Fire salamanders could be on the verge of extinction now that a deadly skin-eating fungus is ravaging their population.
Bodies of the yellow-and-black salamanders have been turning up around forests in the Netherlands since 2010, an Imperial College London press release reported. The population has now fallen to only four percent of its original numbers.
The fungus infects the salamander's skin, eating away at it until there is nothing left.
Scientists found a deadly fungus in samples taken from the dead fire salamanders. They named it Batrachochytrium salamandrivoran (the second word means "salamander eating").
Fungus can wreak havoc on ecosystems, and it can happen extremely quickly. Another fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is believed to have killed off about 200 species worldwide.
"In several regions, including northern Europe, amphibians appeared to be able to co-exist with Bd. It is therefore extremely worrying that a new fungus has emerged that causes mass mortalities in regions where amphibian populations were previously healthy," lead author of the study Professor An Martel of the University of Ghent, said, the press release reported.
Co-author Professor Matthew Fisher, of Imperial College London, believes the fungus could have been introduced to the salamander community from a foreign source.
"We need to know if this is the case, why it is so virulent, and what its impact on amphibian communities will be on a local and global scale. Our experience with Bd has shown that fungal diseases can spread between amphibian populations across the world very quickly. We need to act urgently to determine what populations are in danger and how best to protect them," he said.
The fungus can almost certainly be spread from salamander-to-salamander through direct contact, and could even be contagious through indirect contact. Tests showed the fungus did not spread from the salamanders to the midwife toad, another local species that is susceptible to other fungi.
There is no sign that the fungus has spread outside of the area. About 100 salamanders from Belgium were tested, but all proved to be healthy.
