FLUOROSIS AS A PROBABLE FACTOR IN METABOLIC BONE DISEASE IN CAPTIVE NEW ZEALAND NATIVE FROGS (LEIOPELMA SPECIES).

The article presents a study that describes the investigations into the cause and treatment of metabolic bone disease (MBD) in captive native frogs (Leiopelma species) in New Zealand. The study also investigates the role of flouride in the disease. It notes that MBD was diagnosed in Leiopelma archeyi and Leiopelma hochstetteri in 2008 at the three institutions, Auckland Zoo, Hamilton Zoo and the University of Otago. It reveals the role of increase in flouride levels in the water supply in the rise in the incidence of the hyperplasia, periosteal growth, and thickening of trabeculae.