Scientists have recently claimed to have discovered a new parasitic fungus which infects and kills trapdoor spiders in the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil.
The rare fungus is purple and is part of the group that infects invertebrates and then takes over the host. In a close-up image, the fungus is seen wrapped around a trapdoor spider's body, poking out of the burrow from which the insects are grabbed by the arachnid.
The researchers said that no evidence has surfaced till now which proves that the behaviour of trapdoor spiders is controlled by the newly-discovered parasitic fungus before the former is killed, like their zombie-ant fungi relatives, which tricks the insects into leaving their nests to reach places where they are free to spread their spores.
The scientists discovered the fungus during their field trip to forests north of Rio de Janeiro in November. They were visiting the forests to document the biodiversity of the area and find new species.
They infect trapdoor spiders, and it’s one of the very few cordyceps that are purple, which is a cool feature. We don’t know much about this fungal group because it’s very understudied. This kind of fungus has been collected very few times in the world, mostly in Thailand. This will likely be the first time we sequence a species like this from Brazil,” he added.
5th Edition of International Academic Meet on 27-28 March 2023, Malaysia
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