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LiveScience
LiveScience
Patrick Pester

'Zombie' spiders infected by never-before-seen fungus discovered on grounds of destroyed Irish castle

A spider infected with zombie-spider fungus (Gibellula attenboroughii) on the ceiling of a cave. .

Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen mind-controlling fungus that creates spider "zombies" after it was stumbled upon in a Victorian gunpowder store on the grounds of a destroyed Irish castle.

The fluffy white fungus, similar to the zombie-ant fungus that inspired the "The Last of Us" video game and TV series, likely uses chemical signals to direct cave spiders out of their lairs and into the open. The fungus then kills the spiders and uses their corpses to release its spores, according to a new study.

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