WASHINGTON— In response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced final rules restricting the importation of salamanders for the pet trade. The restriction is designed to prevent introduction of the deadly fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or Bsal, into the United States.

“I’m thrilled that the Fish and Wildlife Service is protecting our native salamanders from this deadly disease,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center. “The U.S. has the greatest diversity of salamanders in the world, and these rules give them a fighting chance at survival.”

The U.S. is a global hotspot of salamander biodiversity, with more than 200 species. None are yet infected with Bsal, a highly virulent fungal pathogen from Asia that is spreading through the salamander pet trade and killing wild salamanders. The fungus is carried on the skin of salamanders and can be unintentionally imported by salamanders in trade. Bsal has already nearly wiped out wild populations of fire salamanders in the Netherlands and Belgium.

The final rules prohibit the import of 36 genera of salamanders into the United States through commercial trade. With today’s rules, the Service is taking a major step toward preventing introduction and spread of the disease across the country, experts say.

Bsal is a relative of the better-known killer chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), one of the major drivers of amphibian declines and extinctions throughout the world. Bd has contributed to declines of numerous species in the United States and is a primary factor in the rapid decline of mountain yellow-legged frog populations.

Bsal is especially lethal to newts, including the eastern newt, a widespread species found across 33 states. Bsal infections could wipe out remaining populations of the striped newt, a rare species clinging to survival in Southern wetlands.

The disease also poses a severe threat to many other rare populations of salamanders in the United States. More than one-third of the nation’s salamanders are already at risk of extinction from threats like habitat loss, climate change and invasive species.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is also adding two genera of mussels and an invasive crayfish to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being imported to the United States. The U.S. is also a global hotspot of freshwater mussels and crayfish. Approximately one-third of the world’s crayfish species and 40% of the world’s mussel species are found in the Southeast.

“Invasive species are one of the leading causes of extinction globally, so it's exciting to see the agency also taking action to protect mussels and crayfish,” said Harlan.