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Two fungal fossils preserved with an ant pupa and a fly in Myanmar amber show that insect-infecting fungi were associated with insects about 99 million years ago. They do not show that the fungi manipulated those insects’ behavior or controlled insect populations: those are broader ecological possibilities, not effects measured in the fossils.
What did the amber fossils reveal?
A study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B on June 11, 2025, describes two previously unknown fossil fungi from Kachin amber in northern Myanmar. The paper names them Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae and Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae. Each is preserved in association with a different insect host: an ant pupa and a fly, respectively. The amber is dated to 98.79 ± 0.62 million years old, or approximately 99 million years.
The researchers examined the specimens with optical microscopy and micro-computed tomography, which allowed them to study preserved fungal structures and their insect hosts. The fossils provide evidence of ancient fungus–insect associations; they are not a record of what the insects did while alive.
What does each fossil show?
| Fossil fungus | Associated host | What the specimen supports |
|---|---|---|
| Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae | Ant pupa | A fungal association with an ant pupa in mid-Cretaceous amber. |
| Paleoophiocordyceps ironomyiae | Fly | A fungal association with a fly in the same amber deposit. |
The paper describes fungal structures whose morphology resembles features of living Ophiocordyceps and related fungi. That resemblance helps researchers consider the fossils in an evolutionary context, but it does not mean the fossil species behaved just like any particular modern species.
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Did “zombie fungi” exist 99 million years ago?
The fossils establish that fungi resembling features of insect-pathogenic lineages were associated with insects roughly 99 million years ago. They do not preserve evidence that the insects were controlled, steered, or otherwise manipulated before they became trapped in amber.
Some living Ophiocordyceps species can manipulate host behavior. That modern biology makes the fossils interesting, but it cannot demonstrate that these ancient fungi did the same. The amber preserves physical associations, not a behavioral sequence.
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Did the fungi control insect populations?
The authors suggest insect-pathogenic fungi may have played a role in regulating insect populations by the mid-Cretaceous. This is an ecological inference: the fossils show fungus–insect associations, but they do not measure how many insects were infected or how infection affected population size. The title’s word “controlled” should therefore be understood as a possibility about ecological influence, not a finding directly demonstrated by these specimens.
What do the fossils suggest about fungal evolution?
To investigate evolutionary history, the researchers used a five-locus genetic dataset and reconstructed host associations. Their analysis estimates the median origin of Ophiocordyceps at about 133.25 million years ago, with a 95% credibility interval of 118.11–147.31 million years. This is a model-based estimate from evolutionary analysis, not the age of either amber specimen.
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The researchers also infer a Cretaceous shift in host associations from beetles toward moths and ants. That is a reconstruction based on phylogenetic analysis and host-association data, rather than something directly visible in the amber. Their host compilation includes 122 living Ophiocordyceps species.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are these the oldest fossil records of insect-pathogenic fungi?
The fossils add evidence to a sparse and uncertain record. The authors’ review discusses 14 potential fossil records of insect-pathogenic fungal associations, many of which have been described as questionable. That figure is a count of potential records, not 14 equally certain confirmed cases. The two Kachin amber specimens contribute unusually direct evidence because fungal structures and insect hosts are preserved together.
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