😔 There is a new salamander pathogen out there in the US, found first in non-native species in collections, including European Fire Salamander among a few others. Some of our native species are at risk, in particular Spotted Salamander and Eastern Newt.
"Scientists continue to work to identify the unknown pathogen first reported in a private collection of the genus Salamandra in November 2025 which may have originated from outside North America... Salamandra species that have gotten sick from this unknown pathogen, the death rates have ranged from 35-55%."
Source: https://parcplace.org/species/pathogenalert/

That's the bad news. The good news is that for everything wrong in this world, how do we know about this? Because people care, reported it, and those who know how are following it up and studying it. There is still good in the world. If you are a pet amphibian owner or flip lots of rocks looking for herps, check out the source link for more info and practice biosecurity.

#salamander #amphibian #pathogen #disease #wildlife