SHINDLE, Mifflin County — The Pennsylvania Game Commission says there's new evidence a deadly bat disorder known as white nose syndrome has probably reached the state.

The commission said a colony of hibernating bats in a former iron mine near Shindle exhibited signs of the syndrome in late December. Shindle is in central Pennsylvania's Mifflin County.

Wildlife biologists found dozens of bats with a fungus that suddenly appeared around their muzzles and on wing membranes. Others also exhibited symptoms of the disorder, and preliminary tests confirmed the diagnosis.

It's been fatal to bat populations in New York and New England, but so far no dead bats have been found in Pennsylvania.

White nose syndrome was first identified in New York bats in 2006.