Friday 29 November 2013

Bd detected in Romania

Bd also occurs in Romania. Judit Vörös et al. describe the presence of Bd in Romania in a new paper in the North-Western Journal of Zoology (here's the link to the journal). Bd was primarily detected in the yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata. (Picture (c) Kurt Grossenbacher)

Thursday 28 November 2013

Bd widespread in Germany

A new study by Torsten Ohst and coauthors which was recently published in the journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (go to the abstract here) shows that Bd is widespread in Germany both geographically and taxonomically. It infects almost all species in almost all parts of Germany.

Saturday 23 November 2013

Darwin's Frogs Going Extinct from Deadly Fungal Infection

Scientists believe Darwin's frogs have gone extinct due to habitat loss and a deadly amphibian disease known as chytridiomycosis. Researchers from Chile's Universidad Andrés Bello (UNAB) and the Zoological Society of London report the loss of Darwin's frogs as one of only a few examples of "extinction by infection."
Darwin's frogs, named by Charles Darwin when he described the species in 1834 on an island just off Chile's west coast, are endemic to Chile and Argentina. The pointy nosed amphibians look like overstuffed leaves. Male Darwin's frogs have been observed scooping their own tadpoles up in their mouths and keeping as many as three inside their vocal sacs until the tadpoles mature into frogs.

Darwin's Frogs Going Extinct from Deadly Fungal Infection : Animals : Nature World News