|
Archives of The Cold Blooded NewsThe Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological SocietyVolume 32, Number 1; January, 2005 |
||
|
No Easy Fix Python hitches ride to New Jersey Gopherus agassizi (Cooper, 1863) - Desert Tortoise Trematopid Amphibian Fossil a New Genus British Federation of Herpetologists Claim that Reptiles Ready to Tip Scales on Dogs in Pet Popularity in U.K. Origin of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus PREVIOUS ISSUES 2004 Index 2003 Index 2002 Index Earlier Issues About the Cold Blooded News CHS Home Page |
Origin of the Amphibian Chytrid FungusChé Weldon, Louis H. du Preez, Alex D. Hyatt, Reinhold Muller, and Rick Speare
Abstract: The sudden appearance of chytridiomycosis, the cause of amphibian deaths and population declines in several continents, suggests that its etiologic agent, the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, was introduced into the affected regions. However, the origin of this virulent pathogen is unknown. A survey was conducted of 697 archived specimens of 3 species of Xenopus collected from 1879 to 1999 in southern Africa in which the histologic features of the interdigital webbing were analyzed. The earliest case of chytridiomycosis found was in a Xenopus laevis frog in 1938, and overall prevalence was 2.7%. The prevalence showed no significant differences between species, regions, season, or time period. Chytridiomycosis was a stable endemic infection in southern Africa for 23 years before any positive specimen was found outside Africa. We propose that Africa is the origin of the amphibian chytrid and that the international trade in X. laevis that began in the mid-1930s was the means of dissemination.
| ||
Site designed and hosted by:
WebSpinners.com
(info@webspinners.com)