(Aug. 18) -- Scientists have discovered the earliest evidence -- 48 million years old -- of a fungus that takes over the bodies and minds of ants. "The fungus, which is alive and well in forests today, latches on to carpenter ants as they cross the forest floor before returning to their nests high in the canopy," reports The Guardian.

Once inside, the fungus, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, releases chemicals that cause the ants to leave the colony in search of leaves or fall from their high canopies onto leaves growing closer to the ground. A graphic description of the ensuing, gruesome death/zombification process follows:

In their last hours, infected ants move towards the underside of the leaf they are on and lock their mandibles in a 'death grip' around the central vein, immobilising themselves and locking the fungus in position. ... The fungus cannot grow high up in the canopy or on the forest floor, but infected ants often die on leaves midway between the two, where the humidity and temperature suit the fungus. Once an ant has died, the fungus sprouts from its head and produces a pod of spores, which are fired at night on to the forest floor, where they can infect other ants.

And if that vivid prose isn't enough for you, here's a video, courtesy the BBC.

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A team of scientists lead by Harvard's David Hughes discovered the telltale bite marks when studying images of a leaf believed to be 48 million years old that was found in Germany. They published their findings in the journal Biology Letters.

"We now present it as the first example of behavioral manipulation and probably the only one which can be found. In most cases, this kind of control is spectacular but ephemeral and doesn't leave any permanent trace," Hughes said. "The question now is, What are the triggers that push a parasite not just to kill its host but to take over its brain and muscles and then kill it."

Read more at The Guardian.