Jakarta –
A rare image captures the moment when an arachnid is “defeated” by a parasitic fungus like in The Last of Us. Spores burst from the huge spider’s back, legs and head.
The photo is one of the winning images from the BMC Ecology and Evolution photography competition. This image, taken by evolutionary biologist Roberto García-Roa , was named runner-up in the Plants and Fungi category.
“While it is not uncommon to find insects parasitized by ‘zombie’ fungi in the wild, it is very rare to witness large spiders succumbing to these fungal conquerors,” García-Roa wrote in an editorial BMC Ecology and Evolution.
“In the forest, near the river, there are remnants of conquest formed by thousands of years of evolution.”
Many species of fungi are known to parasitize spiders, most of the species belonging to the families Cordycipitaceae and Ophiocordycipitaceae. The species of the spider and fungus in García-Roa’s image is unknown, but the fungus appears to have entered its host and taken over the spider’s body.
The winner of the Plants and Fungi category featured a zombie ant being parasitized by another fungus. (Image credit: João Araújo) Photo: LiveScience
The BMC Ecology and Evolution photography competition invites researchers from around the world to submit images that capture nature. The winning entry in the Plants and Fungi category also shows an ant that has been taken over by a zombie fungus – Ophiocordyceps.
Ophiocordyceps is a genus of parasitic fungi known for their ability to turn ants into zombies, controlling their bodies before killing them.
“The forests this fungus inhabits also have a lineage of mycoparasitic fungi that can parasitize, consume, and even castrate Ophiocordyceps,” João Araújo, a mycologist at the New York Botanical Gardens.
“Recently scientists have started cataloging and describing this still unknown fungus that can kill other fungi.”
Cornelia Sattler’s image of an invasive, orange pore fungus is the overall winner of the competition. (Image credit: Cornelia Sattler) Photo: LiveScience
The overall winner of the 2023 competition was an image of the invasive citrus pore fungus (Favolaschia calocera). This species was first identified in Madagascar and has since spread worldwide. The photo shows a mushroom growing on dead wood in the Australian rainforest.
“Despite its innocent and beautiful appearance, the orange pore mushroom is an invasive species that is displacing other fungi and spreading throughout the Australian rainforest,” wrote Cornelia Sattler, of Macquarie University in Australia, who took the photo. “It is important to closely monitor this fungus, whose spores are frequently carried by humans, to protect Australia’s biodiversity.”
A zombie fungus that penetrates the bodies of dead flies won last year’s competition. (Image credit: Roberto García-Roa) Photo: LiveScience
The overall champion of the 2022 competition also features a parasitic fungus. García-Roa’s winning image, taken in a Peruvian jungle, shows spores of the zombie fungus Ophiocordyceps erupting from the body of a fly, according to Livescience.
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2023-08-18 02:45:17
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