Fungus Among Us
Image courtesy Pedro M. Martin-Sanchez via ASU
This unassuming organism has the power to wipe out the past. It's a black fungus (Ochroconis anomala) that is staining prehistoric art on the walls of Lascaux Cave in France (map).
The paintings, dated to the Upper Paleolithic period around 40,000 to 10,000 years ago, began to disappear under the black fungus in 2001.
"The [fungus experts] actually think the treatments that got rid of a previous fungus ended up encouraging the growth of this new one," said Arizona State's Wheeler.
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