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Emerging infectious diseases are among the leading drivers of the sixth mass extinction. The recent invasion of a highly pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), across Europe has led to salamander mass mortality. To date, it remains unclear whether Bsal will cause salamander mass mortalities in North America. Here, we tested the Bsal susceptibility of eight wild-caught salamander species (Plethodon cinereus, P. glutinosus, P. montanus, P. cylindraceus, Desmognathus fuscus, D. wrighti, Eurycea wilderae, and Notophthalmus viridescens) by inoculating individuals sequentially with a low (10,000 zoospores) and high (500,000 zoospores) Bsal dose. Overall, we found rapid and complete mortality of N. viridescens accompanied with high-Bsal infections ([ 200,000 Bsal zoospores) and severe Bsal lesions distributed across the body and deep within the skin. In contrast, we found low mortality of plethodontid salamanders, where only 5 of 60 (8%) Bsal-exposed individuals died over the course of the experiment. In general, plethodontid salamanders experienced moderate Bsal infections (* 4000 Bsal zoospores) with small numbers of BsalSupplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10530-021-02536-1. G. V. DiRenzo (&) C. R. Muletz-Wolz K. R. Lips Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20744, USA e-mail: [email protected] C. R. Muletz-Wolz e-mail: [email protected] K. R. Lips e-mail: [email protected] G. V. DiRenzo Current Address: U. S. Geological Survey, Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA A. V. Longo Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA e-mail: [email protected] C. R. Muletz-Wolz Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008, USA A. P. Pessier Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA e-mail: [email protected] A. P. Pessier Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global, San Diego, CA 92112, USA J. A. Goodheart Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA e-mail: [email protected]