Termites Farmed Fungus 25 Million Years Ago

AnimalsBiologyEcologyEvolutionNature
Written By maryb
Fungus-growing_Termites_Macrotermes_carbonarius_8683922314.jpg

Fungus-growing Termites (Macrotermes carbonarius). Photo: Bernard DUPONT, via Wikimedia Commons. Distributed under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license.Some termite species have developed a highly specialized, symbiotic relationship with fungi, which they cultivate in “gardens” within their subterranean nests.An international team of researchers has confirmed that this behavior evolved 25 million years ago with the discovery of fossilized termite nests containing fungus gardens in Tanzania.Read the whole story on the PLOS Ecology Blog: Oldest Fossil Evidence of Agriculture - By Termites.  

maryb
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