Several studies have associated the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis with worldwide anuran population declines. Recently, six species have been reported to be infected by chytridiomycosis in Brazil, presenting a wide range of distribution, of about 2,400 km over the Atlantic Forest. However, in a country such as Brazil, information about this disease is still beginning to accumulate. Based on morphological and histological data, we found evidence of B. dendrobatidis infection in 16 Brazilian anuran species, members of the families Cycloramphidae and Hylidae. We analyzed tadpoles lacking teeth that were collected from 1964 to 2005, to seek for chytridiomycosis. Our results extend the distribution of the fungus in Brazil ca. 630 km southward (straight-line distance), reaching the southernmost limits of the Atlantic rainforest. We also speculate about its distribution in the Cerrado and Pantanal.
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South American Journal of Herpetology
Vol. 1 • No. 3
December 2006
Vol. 1 • No. 3
December 2006
Anurans
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis
Brazil
chytrid fungus
conservation