This Ancient Insect Was Found in Amber… Then Scientists Saw Something Growing Out of Its Head
The Daily Galaxy••science
Key Points:
- Fossilized ant and fly preserved in 99-million-year-old amber reveal some of the oldest evidence of parasitic fungi from the Ophiocordyceps genus manipulating insect hosts, similar to modern "zombie-ant fungi."
- The fungi infected the insects, altering their behavior before killing them and using their bodies to reproduce, as shown by fungal growths protruding from the insects' heads and bodies.
- Researchers identified two new fungal species, Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae in the fly and Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae in the ant, through microscopic and 3D imaging of amber deposits from northern Myanmar.
- The study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B
