Review of Information on Eocene Entomopathogenic Hypocreales (Ascomycota)

A single cordycipitoid fungus on a bark louse in Baltic amber and the scars of a death-grip from an ant infected by cordycipitoid fungus on a leaf from Messel, are known from the Eocene. Findings of cordycipitoid fungi on a tiger beetle in Rovno amber and on a Camponotus ant in Baltic amber were not confirmed. Ants of the genus Camponotus s. l. are not known from the early and middle Eocene; therefore, the taxonomic position of the Ypresian ant hosts of cordycipitoid fungi cannot be determined with confidence. This paper discusses some aspects of the evolution of entomopathogenic fungi of the order Hypocreales.

Automated summary

This paper discusses the evolution of cordycipitoid fungi through the study of fossils in amber, while also highlighting some unresolved mysteries in this field.