Which fungus causes white-nose syndrome in hibernating little brown bats?

Pseudogymnoascus destructans causes white-nose syndrome in hibernating little brown bats.

This cold-loving fungus grows on exposed skin, especially around a bat’s muzzle, ears, and wings. Infection disrupts hibernation, causing bats to wake repeatedly, burn through stored fat, lose water, and sometimes leave caves during freezing weather.

The disease was first recognized in New York during the winter of 2006 and has since spread across much of the United States and Canada. Little brown bats have suffered especially severe declines because they commonly hibernate in large cave and mine colonies.

A common mix-up is the former name Geomyces destructans, which was later revised to Pseudogymnoascus destructans. The other options are unrelated fungi or pathogens: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis primarily causes chytrid disease in amphibians.