Posted on 02/01/2025 9:06:18 PM PST by Red Badger
A new fungus that infects cave spiders and turns them into "zombies" was discovered in a Victorian gunpowder store at Castle Espie in Northern Ireland during filming for a TV show.
The zombie-spider fungus (Gibellula attenboroughii) infects spiders while they're still alive. (Image credit: Tim Fogg) Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen mind-controlling fungus that creates spider "zombies" after it was stumbled upon in a Victorian gunpowder store on the grounds of a destroyed Irish castle.
The fluffy white fungus, similar to the zombie-ant fungus that inspired the "The Last of Us" video game and TV series, likely uses chemical signals to direct cave spiders out of their lairs and into the open. The fungus then kills the spiders and uses their corpses to release its spores, according to a new study.
Members of BBC's nature documentary TV series Winterwatch first discovered the fungus in a gunpowder storeroom at Castle Espie wetland reserve in Northern Ireland in 2021. Scientists analyzed the fungus and found it is new to science. They describe the species, named Gibellula attenboroughii to honor Sir David Attenborough, in a study published Friday (Jan. 24) in the journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution.
The G. attenboroughii found in the gunpowder store was on a dead orb-weaving cave spider (Metellina merianae). As their name suggests, these spiders usually live in caves but will also inhabit dark human-made areas such as cellars and old storerooms.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
Keep Fauci away from it.
I like the first name proposed for this spider more than the other, which used Attenborough’s name.
The first name considered was “Bangbangus” named for the gunpowder store they were found in.
Ot worried, the murder wasps will protect us from zombie spiders... well, unless they make an unholy alliance
Murder Hornets have been declared eradicated in USA.....
It sounds like the story line of a sci-fi horror movie.
There is a fungus, I believe in the Amazon, which does this to ants. It’s probably in the same family tree, so to speak.
Fascinating. Awful, but fascinating.
That’s a good idea.
:) thanks!
Personally that would be the kind of movie I wouldn’t watch if you tied me to a chair and held my eyelids open with clamps.
But it sure would fit the genre.
I say we nuke them from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Thanks Red Badger. At least they're not from Mars and dye their hair.
What are they selling in the gunpowder store?
Guy Fawkes masks.........
waiting for the next wave, Maim Hornets
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
