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Project Noah Nature School
Found this dead huntsman spider with what appears to be a fungus that has taken over its abdomen. There are some fungi that attack arthropods and once they kill their host they can easily spread to others, not sure if this was the case with this huge spider or not.
Spotted on Jul 22, 2012
Submitted on Jul 27, 2012
8 Comments
That is fascinating!
Not this time. I might be able to get one next time. I can really say at the moment is that the fungal spores appear identical, white on the knees and grey over the abdomen. The two specimens I saw were also in identical situations, found stuck to the underside of upper canopy leaves in rainforest trees.
Hey ink.. did you have a camera? Would love to see them.
I spotted 2 specimens identical to this at Glenrock State Conservation Reserve in Newcastle, NSW. Google maps coordinates: -32.962276,151.719571
25/02/2013
wow, I didnt know that there are over 400 cordyceps fugi
Thanks for the info, I found a longhorn beetle covered with another fungus that I will post soon, not sure if that one was before or after either but it sure makes for interesting nature
Scott, it seems similar to this one: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/124...
I'm not certain Scott but I think the cordyceps usually have much more to show for their presence. This might be an 'after-the-event' fungal attack. Interesting pic.