A new species has just been discovered — on Twitter. It’s a type of parasitic fungus, which researchers have described in the journal MycoKeys.
A new species has just been discovered — on Twitter. It’s a type of parasitic fungus, which researchers have described in the journal MycoKeys.
Its name: Troglomyces twitteri.
Troglomyces twitteri belongs to an order called Laboulbeniales.
Laboulbeniales are tiny fungal parasites that attack insects and millipedes.
These fungi live on the outside of host organisms; in this case, on the reproductive organs of millipedes.
Laboulbeniales were first discovered in the middle of the 19th century. Their taxonomic position was identified in detailed studies performed by Roland Thaxter at Harvard University, beginning in 1890.
Thaxter described approximately 1260 species of these fungi (State of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry).