A new ‘zombie’ fungus has been discovered by scientists in a Scottish forest. The fungus was the inspiration for the popular horror series ‘The Last of Us’.
The new find is said to be fatal, infecting its prey and hijacking its movements. The Gibellula fungus is known to infect spiders through fungal spores and then grow from within the body, eventually digesting the insect whole.
The haunting name comes from the ability for the fungus to make its prey act like ‘zombies’ before death.
The TV series ‘The Last of Us’, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, shows a post-apocalyptic world which has been overrun with a malevolent fungus called cordyceps that infects and takes over the mind of its hosts. The Cordyceps fungus named in the programme is real, but it can only infect insects.
Two examples of the parasitic discovery was made by amateur naturalist Ben Mitchell as part of the West Cowal Habitat Restoration Project, managed by the Argyll Countryside Trust, in Scotland’s mini rainforest.
The ancient woodlands see high levels of rainfall and stay relatively mild all year round.
Volunteers of the project also found wildlife unique to warmer rainforest climates such as rare lichens and liverworts, as well as 650 more common species.
They include colourful slime moulds, glow-worms, moths, butterflies, orchids and even jellyfish.
Mr Mitchell told the Mail Online that parasitic fungi are not uncommon in the insect world, yet the difference with Cordyceps is that it makes its prey move against its will before it dies.
He said: ‘On the way back to the car, a chance gust of wind exposed the underside of some foxglove’s leaves. ‘I could see there was something on the bottom, so I took it with me. ‘I had seen various photos of the Cordyceps and saw when I was up close that it was one of those.’
He added that discovering the rare and ‘creepy’ fungus came as ‘quite a surprise’.
