As MPs wonder whether a fungus could really cause a zombie apocalypse, pity the frog hopping around with an actual mushroom popping out of its side.
Scientists on an expedition in the lush forests of India’s Western Ghats were stumped when they spotted the critter and its bizarre accessory, a small white cap on a thin stalk.
It is the first time a mushroom has been seen growing on live animal tissue.
The frog was not captured, but has been identified as a Rao’s intermediate golden-backed frog, while the mushroom is thought to be a Bonnet mushroom. It is usually found on rotting wood, which could give a frog a complex about their personal hygiene.
However, many fungi – and bacteria – can grow on and inside animals, including humans. Some are beneficial, such as those in our intestines, and just last month scientists discovered the bacteria on your face could help prevent wrinkles.
But some can also cause illness and even death, such as Candida Auris, which kills around a third of people infected by it – but typically only affects those who are already very ill.
In the curious case of the frog and the mushroom, it isn’t known what effect it could be having on the amphibian, or how deep it has penetrated the skin.
‘To the best of our knowledge, never has a mushroom sprouting from the flank of a live frog been documented,’ the team wrote in the journal Reptiles & Amphibians.
The real-life zombie fungus
The fungus in the hit video game and TV show The Last Of Us is based on Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a real-life zombie-maker.
The parasitic fungus infects ants and releases toxic spores that effectively take over the insect’s brain, forcing it into a suicidal ascent up grasses and plants in the hope of being eaten by a passing animal.
Grim.
During their expedition, they spotted around 40 of the frogs, but noted ‘one individual perched on a twig had a distinct outgrowth on its left flank’.
But while this may be a world first, sadly another fungus is having a devastating effect on the world’s frog population.
Chytridiomycosis eats away at frogs’ skin, which, because they use their moist skin in respiration, makes it difficult for them to breathe. It can also damage their nervous system.
The fungus, which also affects toads and salamanders, has led to the extinction of at least 90 species, and is destroying amphibian populations across the world.
MORE : The Government is actually debating if a Last Of Us-style fungus will take over
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