Latest news with #ConradLabandeira
Indian Express
01-07-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
‘The Last of Us' cretaceous edition? 99-million-year-old amber traps ‘zombie' fungus from insect brains
A 99-million-year-old piece of amber has preserved a haunting moment of nature: a fly with a parasitic fungus bursting from its head. Another piece trapped an ant similarly infected, offering two of the oldest examples of 'zombie fungi' in the fossil record. These fungi, belonging to the genus Ophiocordyceps, are known for hijacking their hosts' bodies before killing them. The specimens were discovered by researchers at Yunnan University in China, who used microscopes and 3D imaging to study the amber, according to a study published June 11 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, CNN reported. Lead author Yuhui Zhuang described the fossils as rare. 'Amber gives us this opportunity to visualize the ancient ecological relationships preserved in fossils,' he told CNN. The fly and ant were infected with newly identified species: Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae and Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae, respectively. These fungi are relatives of modern 'zombie-ant' fungi, made famous by the HBO show 'The Last of Us'. The fossils suggest that complex ecological interactions, including parasitic manipulation, were already present in the Cretaceous period. 'It appears that ants were targeted early for zombification,' said Conrad Labandeira of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the study, the CNN reported. The fungi likely killed their hosts before the insects became trapped in sticky tree resin, which eventually fossilized into amber. This process allowed an extremely rare glimpse into ancient parasitic behavior. Scientists say such parasitic fungi played a critical role in shaping insect populations over millions of years. Phil Barden, an expert on amber fossils at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, called the fossils a window into 'the strangeness of the natural world' even during the time of dinosaurs. The amber was sourced from Myanmar's markets prior to 2017, the study said, before the country's civil conflict escalated. Ethical concerns have been raised in recent years about the trade of Burmese amber due to links to conflict funding.
NDTV
14-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
47-Million-Year-Old Cicada Fossil Discovered, Is Full Of Detail
A well-preserved 47-million-year-old cicada fossil has been discovered, and it is so detailed that even the veins in its wings are clearly visible. Even though the fossil is of a female cicada, which usually doesn't sing, scientists believe their shape and features belong to a group where the males could sing. These cicada fossils were in such good shape that scientists could match them to a modern group of cicadas called Platypleurini, mostly found in Africa and Asia, CNN reported. Describing the fossil, researchers said it still had a rostrum but needed to be studied closely to find out if it used it for feeding on plant tissues, as most modern cicadas do. Scientists said the fossil showed traces of colours and patterns on its wings, which modern cicadas usually use to blend into tree trunks to hide from predators. Lead study author Dr Hui Jiang, a palaeontologist and researcher with the Bonn Institute of Organismic Biology at the University of Bonn in Germany, said, "Earlier research showed this was in Africa about 30 million to 25 million years ago and dispersed from there." According to Dr Conrad Labandeira, a fossil expert at the Smithsonian, the discovery showed the group of cicadas evolved slower than earlier studies based on DNA suggested. He mentioned that older fossils of this lineage must be present and have yet to be discovered. "Such discoveries would assist in providing better calibrations for determining a more realistic evolutionary rate," he added. Scientists said the fossil differed from modern cicadas in terms of forewings. "Such discoveries would assist in providing better calibrations for determining a more realistic evolutionary rate," Mr Labandeira added. Mr Jiang said, "This fossil pushes back the known fossil record of sound-producing cicadas in the tribe Platypleurini by approximately 20 million years, indicating that the diversification of this group occurred much earlier than previously recognised."
