US Edition99-Million-Year-Old Amber Reveals Ancient Zombie Fungi
- Researchers led by Yuhui Zhuang discovered 99-million-year-old amber fossils of a fly and an ant infected with ancient Ophiocordyceps fungi in Myanmar's amber markets.
- The specimens were acquired before Myanmar’s political conflict started, which has raised ethical concerns about sourcing amber fossils from the region.
- A study released on June 11 detailed the identification of two novel fungal species, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae found on an ant and Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae discovered on a fly, providing evidence of early parasitoid behavior.
- Coauthor Edmund Jarzembowski noted that many unusual aspects of today’s natural environment were already evident during the peak of the dinosaur era, emphasizing the ancient ecological diversity.
- These fossils suggest terrestrial ecosystems were complex 99 million years ago and that Ophiocordyceps fungi likely regulated insect populations as predators, similar to modern zombie-ant fungi.
45 Articles
45 Articles
Zombie fungus that inspired “The Last of Us” lived among dinos
The popular video game and television franchise “The Last of Us” features a post-apocalyptic world where humans are infected by Cordyceps – a fungus that infects the brain and body, turning its hosts into mindless zombies.The fungus is based on real-world Cordyceps and Ophiocordyceps that infect insects, and new research suggests these parasites are much older than what scientists previously thought. A plot millions of years in the making Scie…
Prehistoric horror: 99-million-year-old ‘zombie’ fungus found bursting from insect heads
Scientists have made a haunting and oddly poetic discovery that shows that even tens of millions of years ago, life — and death — was stranger than fiction. Here's all we know about the ancient zombie fungi discovery.
By Katie Hunt, CNN A 99-million-year-old blob of amber has preserved an ancient fly in a striking way: with the mushroom-like fruiting body of a “zombie” fungus sprouting from its head. The insect, along with a second specimen of a young ant infected with a similar fungus, are two of the oldest examples of a strange natural phenomenon in which fungal parasites take over the bodies of their hosts before killing them. “Amber gives us a chance to v…
Stunning amber fossil reveals ‘Last of Us’-type fungus likely lived alongside dinosaurs
Paleontologists studying insects trapped in amber from 99 million years ago have made a remarkable discovery: an ant and a fly with parasitic fungi bursting from their bodies.
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