This spider looks like a victim of a zombie fungus. But scientists say that this is a big fraud

When Alexander Bentley saw a mass covered with a deadly parasitic fungus during a group tour in August 2025, he was shocked to see that the spider beneath it was still alive.

The herpetologist, based in Ecuador, often leads group tours through a section of the Amazon rainforest and is no stranger to Cordyceps, the parasitic fungus featured in the post-apocalyptic franchise. The last of us.

Known as the “zombie fungus,” it grows inside insects and arachnids, then manipulates the host to spread its spores “in such a way that the victim behaves like a zombie,” According to the National Library of Medicine.

This spider had developed two tendril-like structures in yellow and white on the back of the abdomen, known as tubercles – usually a sign that the Cordyceps has successfully killed its host.

“I was sure it was cordyceps,” Bentley said. as it happens Host Nil Koksal. “I thought it was a spider infected with the fungus that had somehow survived the whole infection process and was still alive.”

It turned out to be an entirely new species of arachnid that appears to mimic fungi like Cordyceps, possibly to lure prey or ward off predators. zootaxa.

Scientists are celebrating the discovery, but not everyone agrees that the spider’s strange appearance is enough evidence to say it is mimicking the fungus.

a new species of spider

When Bentley saw the spider showing signs of life, he turned to iNaturalist, a citizen-science platform for answers.

Users there speculated that the spider was mimicking a type of parasitic fungus called Gibellulawhich is part of cordycepitaceae Family.

“Other experts immediately responded that it’s an incredible organism. It’s not infected. There’s no fungus involved,” Bentley said. “It’s a spider, and it’s definitely a new species to science.”

Bentley turned to his colleague, study co-author David Ricardo Diaz-Guevara, for help confirming the identification.

Diaz-Guevara traveled from Quito, Peru to begin observations and analysis with Bentley.

““Careful and detailed work on the spider’s morphology is needed to determine whether it is a new species,” said diaz-guevara An arachnid curator at the National Institute of Biodiversity in Ecuador, who is an expert in this species of spiders.

After comparing the spider’s characteristics to the existing literature of the other seven species within the genus, Díaz-Guevara confirmed that it was a new spider species now known as the spider. Tacnoskia Waska.

“We were very excited,” Bentley said.

Mycologist Monica Fisher of the University of British Columbia says the discovery is unlike anything she’s ever seen before, and shows the value of platforms like iNaturalist.

“It’s great to see the impact of citizen science,” Fisher, who was not involved in the research, said in an email.

Why does it look like a fungus?

Bentley says there are two theories as to why the spider might mimic the fungus.

The first is an aggressive reaction. tacznoskiia Spider species do not usually trap their food using webs. Instead, they use two enlarged claws located on either side of their forelimbs. By using the fungus as cover, the prey does not realize it is being hunted while the spider waits to attack.

Or it may be a defense mechanism, so predators such as birds avoid consuming them.

It’s possible that the spider’s appearance isn’t a form of camouflage at all, says Andrew Swafford, an associate professor of biology at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Swafford, who was not part of the research, said, “I don’t see a lot of strong evidence that the shapes on the abdomen serve as camouflage or mimicry, except that they look very similar to Cordyceps stalks to us humans.”

“Unless further research is done, it is possible that these descriptions could be used for anything or nothing.”

If this turns out to be the case, Swafford says it would be the first case of a spider or insect mimicking a late-stage Cordyceps that he is aware of.

However it works, Bentley says this discovery, by far, tops the list of things he’s found while living in the rainforest.

“We’ve seen a lot of crazy things and discovered a lot of other species,” he said. “But this is the rarest, craziest and most unique thing I have ever seen in my life.”