The fungus is so virulent it can wipe out whole colonies of ants and it's not just ants that fall victim to this killer. There are literally thousands of different types of cordyceps fungi and remarkably, each specialises on just one species. But these attacks do have a positive effect on the jungle's diversity. Since parasites like these stop any one group of animal getting the upper hand. The more numerous a species becomes, the more likely it'll be attacked by its nemesis - a cordyceps fungus. With so much competition, jungles have become the home of the specialist. Now this animal, in the island of Borneo, is one of the most unusual. It's a colugo, or flying lemur, though this is something of a misnomer as it doesn't actually fly and it certainly isn't a lemur. In fact nobody's quite sure who its closest relative is.


真菌毒性非常强，能把整个群体的蚂蚁消灭光。在这个杀手面前倒下的不只是蚂蚁。实际上有数千种不同的虫草菌——令人称奇的是每一种真菌专门对付一个物种。但是这种袭击对丛林生态的多样性有积极意义，因为像这样一些寄生生物能够阻止任何群体的动物占上风。一个物种的数量越多，它受到报应女神即虫草菌——袭击的可能性就越大。 由于竞争激烈，丛林成为特化物种的家园。来自婆罗洲岛的这种动物就极不寻常。它是斑鼯猴，又名飞狐猴，不过“飞狐猴”这个名字叫得不恰当，因为第一，实际上它不会飞；第二，它当然不是狐猴。实际上没有一个人能真正说清它的近亲到底是那种动物。