First Record of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Pleurodema somuncurense, a Critically Endangered Species from Argentina

ARELLANO M. L; VELASCO M. A.; KACOLIRIS F. P.; BELASEN A. M.; JAMES T. Y.

HERPETOLOGICAL REVIEW

SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

Año: 2017 vol. 48 p. 68 - 70

0018-084X

The Valcheta Frog Pleurodema somuncurense is an endemic species from the Somuncura Plateau (northern Patagonia, Argentina) with a high degree of habitat specialization and a very small distributional range.Is one of most endangered species of Argentina and one of the three amphibians in this country listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List (IUCN 2016) due to a restrictedrange and a combination of threats including exotic predatory fish species (Oncorhynchus mykiss and Salvelinus fontinalis),habitat fragmentation, and livestock encroachment.In February 2015 during a population study of the Valcheta Frog, we conducted visual encounter surveys covering the wholerange of the species, and individuals were gently but firmly swabbed 10 times using sterile fine-tipped rayon swabs with plastic shafts, on the ventral surface,hind limbs and interdigital membrane. Samples showedtwo individuals to be consistently Bd-positive and another twoborderline Bd-positive. Considering the critically endangered status ofthe species, detailed monitoring of the stability of the populationis warranted in order to elucidate the long-term consequences ofthe presence of this exotic disease.