Abstract
A scabies infection has been reported for the marten by Cowan (1955), but no record of scabies in the fisher has been found. A mature male fisher (Martes pennanti), shot January 23, 1959, in Cumberland County, Maine, was brought to this laboratory by D. Stanton. It was very thin, with large areas of encrusted skin on the ventral surface of the body and the lateral surface of the legs. The inguinal region was discolored, brown, and foul-smelling. A small piece of the encrusted material was removed, placed in a 10 percent solution of sodium hydroxide for 6 hours, and examined with a low power microscopic objective. Numerous mites (Sarcoptes scabei) were observed. Portions of the encrusted skin and preserved mites are stored at the Animal Pathology Laboratory, University of Maine, Orono. One of e major foods of the fisher in this area consists of porcupines (Coulter, 1959) which are commonly affected with scabies (Payne and O'Meara, 1958). Scabies infections of this magnitude could cause serious fur damage and debilitation in the fisher.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
