The Last of Us: Zombie ant in Baltic amber

[Vopros]

Dows somebody know what is this fungi

 

 

[Mark Kmiecik]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_unilateralis  -- this will take you to the Wikipedia article. 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Mark Kmiecik

[IsaacTheFossilMan]

Interesting fossils - in the Messel Pit in Germany, a 48Mya leaf fossil was uncovered, showing the scars of O. unilateralis infected ants' death grips.

Note the anterior-dorsal scars along the veins of the leaf - from the 'death grip' of an infected ant.

 

 

Source: 

 

Hughes, D. P.; et al. (2011) ‘Ancient death-grip leaf scars reveal ant-fungal parasitism’, Biology Letters, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 67-70

http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2010.0521

 

ResearchGate Link

Edited April 28, 2023 by IsaacTheFossilMan

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

On 4/26/2023 at 4:39 PM, Vopros said:

Dows somebody know what is this fungi

 

Fascinating that they've been able to recover parasitoid behaviour like this from the fossil record!