A groundbreaking discovery in 99‑million‑year‑old Burmese amber reveals two new species of “zombie‑fungus”—parasitic fungi that had infected insects during the Cretaceous age. Researchers from Yunnan University identified a fly infected by Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae and an ant pupa infected by Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae. Both fungi, from the Ophiocordyceps family, manipulated their hosts before bursting through their bodies, mirroring the behavior of modern-day “zombie‑ant” fungi seen in nature and popularized by The Last of Us.
Published June 11 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study used microscopy and 3D imaging to visualize the preserved fungal fruiting bodies emerging from insect heads. Yuhui Zhuang of Yunnan University noted amber provides a unique window into these ancient host‑pathogen relationships.
This fossil evidence suggests that these parasitic fungi were already evolving complex ecological interactions by the mid‑Cretaceous—likely influencing insect populations even in dinosaur‑times. The fossils also push back the evolutionary history of Ophiocordyceps, indicating divergence from ancestral species over 130 million years ago.
Notably, these amber specimens were acquired before 2017, sidestepping concerns tied to Myanmar's conflict‑linked amber trade. The findings illuminate how even tiny fungi shaped ancient ecosystems—and underscore amber's role in preserving astonishing snapshots of prehistoric life.
