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- Nov 3, 2013
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Found a bunch of cellar spiders with fungus growing out of them in a couple drainage tunnels I was exploring near my house. Looks like anamorphic Cordyceps or similar to me, but I would like a second opinion before I start getting excited.
Here are three relatively good photos, but there were tons of these. Figure it's a good environment for fungus--cool, damp, limited airflow and temperature variation--but I also saw balls of mold the size of softballs, so figured these might just be mold. The main reason I don't think so is that the fungus clearly emerges from joints in the legs, whereas I would expect mold to be able to degrade chitin and thus grow sort of equally opportunistically on the whole animal.
I didn't take samples and I don't have a microscope, unfortunately, so what you see is what you get.
Here are three relatively good photos, but there were tons of these. Figure it's a good environment for fungus--cool, damp, limited airflow and temperature variation--but I also saw balls of mold the size of softballs, so figured these might just be mold. The main reason I don't think so is that the fungus clearly emerges from joints in the legs, whereas I would expect mold to be able to degrade chitin and thus grow sort of equally opportunistically on the whole animal.
I didn't take samples and I don't have a microscope, unfortunately, so what you see is what you get.
wouldnt be fun to end up with fuzz like that between your toes or fingers
