TY - JOUR
T1 - Detection of Snake Fungal Disease from a Lampropeltis triangulum (Eastern Milksnake) in Northern Michigan
AU - Ravesi, Michael J.
AU - Tetzlaff, Sasha J.
AU - Allender, Matthew C.
AU - Kingsbury, Bruce A.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - An alarming number of cases of Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), a condition frequently resulting in morbidity and mortality in snakes, have been documented in numerous species across much of the eastern US. We sampled a skin lesion on the face of a free-ranging Lampropeltis triangulum (Eastern Milksnake) from the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The lesion tested positive for Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of SFD. Our results document the second species from Michigan known to be infected with SFD. This case adds to the growing body of literature detailing the distribution of snake species affected, and further indicates that this pathogen is widespread in the eastern US. We stress the continued need for increased, systematic sampling efforts to determine the species affected by SFD and the potentially deleterious impacts it has on snake populations.
AB - An alarming number of cases of Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), a condition frequently resulting in morbidity and mortality in snakes, have been documented in numerous species across much of the eastern US. We sampled a skin lesion on the face of a free-ranging Lampropeltis triangulum (Eastern Milksnake) from the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The lesion tested positive for Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of SFD. Our results document the second species from Michigan known to be infected with SFD. This case adds to the growing body of literature detailing the distribution of snake species affected, and further indicates that this pathogen is widespread in the eastern US. We stress the continued need for increased, systematic sampling efforts to determine the species affected by SFD and the potentially deleterious impacts it has on snake populations.
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U2 - 10.1656/045.023.0310
DO - 10.1656/045.023.0310
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84988361285
SN - 1092-6194
VL - 23
SP - N18-N21
JO - Northeastern Naturalist
JF - Northeastern Naturalist
IS - 3
ER -