Fungus Named for David Attenborough Turns Cave Spiders into Zombies

In 2021, a BBC documentary crew in Northern Ireland came across a dead spider, infected with fungus, on the ceiling of an abandoned gunpowder store. They took a couple of pictures and sent them off for analysis, only to discover that the fungus was something no one had ever seen before. Since then, the same fungus has been found on a number of cave spiders in the area, and it turns them into fungus-filled zombies before killing them. Now the details of the discovery have been published in the journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution.

The newly discovered fungus is similar to Ophiocordyceps, popularly known as the zombie ant fungus, but comes from a family which specializes on spiders. So far, it has been found on two species of orb-weaving spider, Metellina merianae and Meta menardi (pictured below).

Gibellula attenboroughii, the cave spider zombie fungus

The newly discovered fungal species, dubbed Gibellula attenboroughii (named after famed naturalist David Attenborough), turns cave spiders into something out of Day of the Dead (streaming now on SYFY). It forces the usually reclusive cave spiders away from their webs to the mouth of the cave, before sprouting deadly spores from their bodies.

Typically, cave-dwelling orb-weavers spend most of their time hiding out in or near their webs. They are specialized for maneuvering in their webs and don’t work as well when moving over land or cave walls. Once they’re infected, the fungus triggers a behavioral change which drives the spiders away from their webs and toward the cave’s opening. More research is needed and so far, scientists don’t fully understand how the fungus is driving this change.

When a spore lands on a spider, it sinks into the body and begins to multiply, consuming internal organs and structures along the way. By the time it’s finished, the body’s interior has been almost totally replaced by a spider-shaped mass of fungus. The final horrifying phase involves fruiting bodies emerging from the spider’s exoskeleton to release spores and find the next host.

While the precise relationship between G. attenboroughii and cave spiders is still unfolding, scientists suspect that increased airflow at the cave mouth helps spores to disperse. It might seem like the beginning of the end for these unfortunate spider species, but there’s probably nothing to worry about for them or for us. The fungus is newly discovered, but it isn’t new, these spiders have been living alongside it for untold ages, and it likely helps to keep spider populations in balance.

Moreover, there’s no risk of this fungus jumping from spiders to people. These sorts of fungi specialize on specific species or groups of animals. It has evolved to prey on spiders under particular conditions, and it would need to make a huge (read: impossible) evolutionary leap to survive and thrive in our wildly different bodies. If you’re looking for human zombies, we recommend TV and movies.

Day of the Dead is streaming now on SYFY.