Zombie Fungus Discovered: New Species Manipulates Cave Spiders
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — Scientists in Europe have identified a newly discovered species of fungus, Gibellula attenboroughii, which manipulates cave-dwelling spiders to leave their webs before ultimately killing them.
The fungus, named after renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough, was detailed in a study published on January 24 in a scientific journal. Researchers observed that G. attenboroughii lures its hosts out of their typical habitats to more suitable areas for spore dispersal, functioning similarly to the infamous zombie ant fungi.
“It’s a new origin of behavior manipulation,” said Dr. João Araújo, a mycologist at the Natural History Museum of Denmark and a co-author of the study. “This is something very interesting that’s not super common in the parasitic world.”
The fungi were initially spotted by a BBC documentary crew in 2021 while filming at an abandoned gunpowder storeroom in County Down. The team noticed an orb-weaver spider displaying unusual behavior—positioning itself in an exposed position away from its web—suggesting manipulation by the fungus.
Further investigations revealed the fungus infects two cave-dwelling species of orb-weaving spiders, Metellina merianae and Meta menardi, both of which are commonly found in Europe. Researchers noted that infected spiders were often found in exposed areas of caves, enhancing the fungus’s ability to spread spores.
“Most web-building spiders prefer to stay on their webs, being adapted for that environment,” said Dr. Jay Stafstrom, an expert in arachnid sensory ecology at Cornell University who was not involved in the study. “The notion that a fungus can infect and behaviorally alter a spider to facilitate its own spread is intriguing.”
The precise mechanisms by which G. attenboroughii affects the spider’s brain remain unclear, and additional research is needed to fully understand the ecological impacts. Araújo highlighted that fungi have coexisted with spiders for millions of years, contributing to ecological balance without posing a threat to spider populations.
According to Dr. Matthew Nelsen, an evolutionary biologist at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, only about 150,000 species of fungi have been formally documented, suggesting that approximately 95% of fungal diversity remains unexplored.
“This study draws attention to this challenge and may inspire further exploration into the world of fungi,” Nelsen said. “There’s a complex and diverse ecosystem at play that is yet to be uncovered.”
The fungus is part of a broader group known to infect only spiders, and researchers emphasized there’s no risk of G. attenboroughii affecting humans. The evolutionary leap required for a fungus to thrive in human hosts is deemed improbable.
In the future, Araújo and his team plan to pursue more studies on spider-infecting fungi, looking towards potential applications in agriculture and medicine.
“Understanding how these species evolve and interact could lead to groundbreaking developments in treatments for neurological diseases,” Araújo noted, hinting at the possibilities that might arise from such research.
