'Zombie ant parasite' uncovered
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Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:07 pm » by Theeye
'Zombie ant parasite' uncovered
The evidence is an ancient fossilised leaf bearing unmistakable traces of a natural horror story.
Dr David Hughes, from the University of Exeter, who studied the find, said: "This leaf shows clear signs of one well-documented form of zombie parasite, a fungus which infects ants and then manipulates their behaviour."
The parasite, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, appears to take over the minds of infected ants.
The insects are forced to leave their nests and head for a leaf that provides ideal conditions for the fungus to reproduce.
On arrival the ants are compelled to bite hard on a major vein of the leaf before dying. The "death grip" leaves the ant in a perfect position for the fungus to grow and release its infectious spores.
The death grip bite leaves a very distinctive mark, and it was this scientists discovered on the 48-million-year-old leaf specimen from the Rhine Rift Valley in Hesse, Germany.
"The evidence we found mirrors very closely the type of leaf scars that we find today, showing that the parasite has been working in the same way for a very long time.
"This is, as far as we know, the oldest evidence of parasites manipulating the behaviour of their hosts and it shows this parasitic association with ants is relatively ancient and not a recent development."
The research is reported in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
The evidence is an ancient fossilised leaf bearing unmistakable traces of a natural horror story.
Dr David Hughes, from the University of Exeter, who studied the find, said: "This leaf shows clear signs of one well-documented form of zombie parasite, a fungus which infects ants and then manipulates their behaviour."
The parasite, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, appears to take over the minds of infected ants.
The insects are forced to leave their nests and head for a leaf that provides ideal conditions for the fungus to reproduce.
On arrival the ants are compelled to bite hard on a major vein of the leaf before dying. The "death grip" leaves the ant in a perfect position for the fungus to grow and release its infectious spores.
The death grip bite leaves a very distinctive mark, and it was this scientists discovered on the 48-million-year-old leaf specimen from the Rhine Rift Valley in Hesse, Germany.
"The evidence we found mirrors very closely the type of leaf scars that we find today, showing that the parasite has been working in the same way for a very long time.
"This is, as far as we know, the oldest evidence of parasites manipulating the behaviour of their hosts and it shows this parasitic association with ants is relatively ancient and not a recent development."
The research is reported in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
- Cornbread714
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Fri Aug 20, 2010 1:48 am » by Cornbread714
This is the third zombie ant thread.
You are not as much of a twat as some of the twats who think you are a twat...
- Fatdogmendoza
- Fatdogmendoza
Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:17 am » by Endless16
cornbread714 wrote:This is the third zombie ant thread.
It's cos it's awesome! Imagine the implications if the exact thing happened in mammals? Awesome films could, and I'm pretty sure have, come from that. Usually it's blamed on the Aliens though. Maybe Aliens came down and thought the insects, being the creatures with the largest population, were the ones actually in control of the planet, and made this disease to wipe them out and take over!...
If that's the case, I bet there were some pretty epic facepalms from the mothership when they saw this.
- Cornbread714
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Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:32 am » by Cornbread714
They seem to be everywhere. Thank God for those alert highway workers...
You are not as much of a twat as some of the twats who think you are a twat...
- Fatdogmendoza
- Fatdogmendoza
- Cornbread714
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- Posts: 10661
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Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:41 am » by Cornbread714
viewer wrote:It's cos it's awesome! Imagine the implications if the exact thing happened in mammals?
It already has.
Yeah, Pindz is living proof.
You are not as much of a twat as some of the twats who think you are a twat...
- Fatdogmendoza
- Fatdogmendoza
Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:42 am » by Endless16
viewer wrote:cornbread714 wrote:
This is the third zombie ant thread.
It's cos it's awesome! Imagine the implications if the exact thing happened in mammals?
It already has.
Where? how? what species?
Fri Aug 20, 2010 2:47 am » by -Marduk-
______________________________________________________________________________
-= PREDESTINATION: Itz hard to be ze good guy when you turn into a fucking gun =-
-= PREDESTINATION: Itz hard to be ze good guy when you turn into a fucking gun =-
Bpeirce2 wrote:Take this video and shove it. It's payback time. May the next meteorite land on your house.
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