Jurassic Parasites: Amber Fossils Reveal the Dinosaur-Era Origins of Zombie-Ant Fungi
A remarkable discovery from mid-Cretaceous amber has pushed back the evolutionary timeline of one of nature’s most bizarre parasitic relationships: the infamous “zombie-ant” fungi. Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have identified fossilized fungi infecting insects in 99-million-year-old amber, offering the oldest direct evidence of entomopathogenic fungi manipulating their hosts. Fossilized Mind Control The ...