Any last of us fans? Or mycologists?

My wife has a collection of natural oddities on a shelf in her greenhouse. Owl pellets, bones ‘n’ stuff we’ve found on walks. Amongst them is a fox skull and we’ve just noticed this freaky fungus/plant growing on it. Google images tells me it’s not cordyceps! Is it something worse? Should I have donned a respirator before going to photo it?  Will the zombie apocalypse begin in a greenhouse in rural Shropshire?

I think you could be patient zero

I think you could be patient zero

Or Mrs Bloke is.  Thinking of quarantining her in the greenhouse for a few days to be on the safe side.

What do you think killed the fox?

What do you think killed the fox?

Mrs Bloke? 😲 Jeez it’s all starting to make sense…..

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibellula_pulchra

Maybe?

<Scrolls back up initially to make sure it’s not a WCA post>

wot no badgers?

He’s too busy inflating penguins. 

wot no badgers?

Plenty about but none has obliged us yet, by decomposing and depositing their skull in a convenient place.

He’s too busy inflating penguins. 

🤔 Too subtle for me?

none has obliged us yet, by decomposing and depositing their skull in a convenient place.

more likely to be found close to badger setts

That flower/thistle thing to right of the skull, I reckon one of the bits fell on to the skull, and that got some kind of lichen