Sexy Zombie Frogs

frog photo
Photo by cluczkow

From Science magazine comes news of a fungus which turns frogs into sexy zombies. And what, exactly, does it mean for a frog to be a sexy zombie? Well, “A fungal disease that has killed amphibians worldwide may be spreading by making the mating calls of infected males more attractive to females.”

The fungus, known as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), causes disruptions of the immune system, destroys skin, and causes heart failure. And while there is evidence of some frog species adapting to the 40,000 year old fungus, others are being killed off due to lack of defenses. For more details on the fungus and its impact on amphibians, see the full article at Science magazine’s web site.