Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, commonly known as zombie-ant fungus, [2] is an insect-pathogenic fungus, discovered by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in 1859, Zombie ants, infected by the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus, are predominantly found in tropical rainforests.

The apocalyptic takeover of the human species by a mind-controlling fungal pathogen is implausible, David Hughes, an entomologist at Penn State University who advised on the video game, tells the...

The zombies are identifiable by the fungi bursting from their bodies: a thicket of spiky tendrils, a miniature garden of mushroom-like fruiting bodies. These fungal parasites act as...

The fictional fungus, which is based on real-life species that infect ants, is referred to in The Last of Us as “Cordyceps.” That is the name of a group of actual fungi, but where is the line between fact and fancy? NYBG has the answers and is here to set the record straight.

In The Last Of Us, the fungi was an unspecified Cordyceps species, whilst in The Girl With All The Gifts it was Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. O. unilateralis is also known as the zombie-ant fungus as it infects ants in the Camponotini tribe.