There is gold in the graveyard: a new lineage of zombie-ant fungi in the genus <i>Ophiocordyceps</i> ( <i>Ophiocordycipitaceae</i> : <i>Hypocreales</i> ) from Minas Gerais, Brazil

<i>Ophiocordyceps</i> serves as a key model for studying cryptic fungal diversity and behavioural manipulation of hymenopterous insects. Here, we describe <i>Ophiocordyceps acanthoponerae</i>, a newly discovered species infecting <i>Acanthoponera mucronata</i> (<i>Heteroponerini</i>: <i>Formicidae</i>) in a Brazilian Atlantic rainforest-Cerrado ecotone. Morphological analyses revealed mixed traits characteristic of <i>Ophiocordyceps</i> lineages associated with ants and wasps, including leaf biting behaviour manipulation, dark brown ascostromata covering 360º of the stalk, ascospores producing capilliconidia and hirsutelloid asexual morphs. Phylogenetic analyses based on four genomic regions (SSU, LSU, <i>TEF</i> and <i>RPB1</i>) placed this species outside the traditional myrmecophilous hirsutelloid clades <i>O. unilateralis</i> and <i>O. kniphofioides</i>, and within a novel clade closely related to the wasp pathogen <i>O. humbertii</i>. This discovery represents the first record of <i>Ophiocordyceps</i> infecting <i>Heteroponerini</i> and highlights an unexplored lineage of manipulative fungi. Our findings expand the known host range for myrmecophilous <i>Ophiocordyceps</i> and underscore the importance of studying fungal diversity in under-sampled ecological niches. <b>Citation:</b> Lima-Santos SJ, Araújo JPM, Feitosa RM, Mendes-Pereira T, Elliot SL, Evans HC (2025). There is gold in the graveyard: a new lineage of zombie-ant fungi in the genus <i>Ophiocordyceps</i> (<i>Ophiocordycipitaceae</i>: <i>Hypocreales</i>) from Minas Gerais, Brazil. <i>Fungal Systematics and Evolution</i> <b>16</b>: 243-264. doi: 10.3114/fuse.2025.16.14.