It was first isolated in 1925 by Fred Weidman, and it was named pachydermatis (Greek for 'thick-skin') after the original sample taken from an Indian rhinoceros (Rhinocerosus unicornis) with severe exfoliative dermatitis.

[3] A commensal fungus, it can be found within the microflora of healthy mammals such as humans, cats and dogs,[4][5] However, it is capable of acting as an opportunistic pathogen under special circumstances and has been seen to cause skin and ear infections, most often occurring in canines.

[5] Colonies are cream or yellowish in colour, smooth to wrinkled and convex with a margin possessing a slightly lobed appearance.

[4] Proteinase and phospholipase are also released in infections involving Candida albicans and have been found to contribute to its virulence by inducing pores into host cell membranes, which eventually lead to their loss of function.

[5] Malassezia pachydermatis in its pathogenic form can be found colonizing a variety of animals such as rhinoceroses,[2] sea lions,[12] black bears[3] and domesticated cats.

[4] First associated with canine otitis externa in 1955 by Benght A. Gustafson, this yeast has since become an important pathogen especially in the study of small animal medicine.

Symptoms include excessive scratching, head shaking, odour, and reddish-brown waxy deposits within the ear canal.

[3] Malassezia pachydermatis caused canine seborrhoeic dermatitis was first discovered by Dufait in 1975 and may be characterized by symptoms ranging from dandruff to scaly lesions.

These low-birthweight infants are routinely fed lipid solutions from arterial catheters but these lines may be colonised by M.pachydermatis, in turn causing bloodstream infections called fungemia.