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The newly discovered parasitic fungus that turns spiders into 'zombies'

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A newly discovered fungus that waas found infecting spiders in a cave in Northern Ireland has been named in honour of Sir David Attenboroug.

The parasitic fungus was found during filming of the BBC's nature documentary series, Winterwatch, in 2021 and was named Gibellula attenboroughii as a nod to the broadcasting legend.

Researchers discovered a fungus turning spiders into “zombies”, similar to the zombie ant fungus that inspired the post-apocalyptic TV show The Last of Us.

Upon infection, it forces cave-dwelling spiders out of their lairs and onto cave walls, where they hang before they die out in the open. “Infected spiders exhibit behavioural changes similar to those reported for zombie ants,” scientists write in the study, published in the journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution. “In all instances, the infected spiders had moved from their concealed lairs or webs and died exposed on the cave roof or wall and the store ceiling.” The study says the fungus kills the orb-wearing spiders, named Metellina merianae, and uses their corpses to release its spores to infect new hosts.

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