A field researcher and his team came across something really rare, a cordyceps (aka “zombie fungus”)-infected tarantula, and it’s nightmare fuel. In a video sharing the find, you can see the zombie fungus has killed the tarantula and sprouted out of its body. It gets worse, though, when you realize exactly how the tarantula died.
“We have stumbled across something truly incredible tonight,” says Chris Ketola as he lies on the ground next to a vibrant yellow-orange tarantula with weird spikes erupting from its dead body. Ketola is a field research coordinator for a nonprofit organization doing work in the Peruvian Amazon and Uganda. He’s the one who narrated and shared the educational yet horrific video on Instagram.
“[The fungus] took over his nervous system and forced him to come to this location,” Ketona explains. “And then as he died, the fungus sprouted out of his body, allowing the spores to spread.”
In the post’s caption, Ketona further explains, saying:
“Cordyceps is a genus of fungi that primarily attacks invertebrates, slowly eating their body while taking over their nervous system . . . This particular species of Cordyceps infects tarantulas and is quite rare.”
And yes, this is the zombie fungus that inspired The Last of Us.
Watch it here:
Horrific? Incredible? Both? Tell us what you think below.