US EditionScientists Find Oldest Mosquito Larva in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber
The fossil larva, similar to modern species, confirms mosquito diversification by the Jurassic period and offers new insights into their early evolutionary ecology, researchers say.
- On October 28, 2025, LMU researchers uncovered the oldest known mosquito larva, Cretosabethes primaevus, preserved in about 99 million-year-old amber from the Kachin region, Myanmar, reported in Gondwana Research.
- Before this find, scientists relied on adult mosquito fossils, interpreted as the extinct Burmaculicinae lineage, leaving immature stage specimens undocumented and motivating the search for larval evidence.
- Morphological analysis shows the larva resembles modern Sabethini group species and researchers infer it lived in tiny water pools, preserved by a rare drop of tree resin into such habitats.
- The study suggests extinct and modern mosquito forms coexisted during the Cretaceous period, while DNA estimates indicate mosquitoes emerged more than 200 million years ago.
- Researchers report mosquitoes had diversified in the Jurassic period and larval morphology stayed similar, challenging assumptions and offering new insights into evolutionary ecology, André Amaral said.
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ResearchGate
ScienceDirectFirst fossil mosquito larva in 99-million-year-old amber with a modern type of morphology sheds light on the evolutionary history of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)
Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) have been hypothesized to have originated during the Jurassic Period, about 201–145 million years ago, primarily based on fossil evidence from their sister group, Chaoboridae (phantom midges). However, direct evidence for such an early origin of Culicidae is currently absent. The oldest known mosquito fossils, all adults and recovered from Cretaceous amber deposits about 99 million years ago, display m
Rare fossil find reveals early evolution of mosquitoes
In amber some 99 million years old, LMU researchers have discovered the oldest known mosquito larva. The Cretaceous fossil comes from the Kachin region in Myanmar and was preserved in excellent condition. Described as a new species of a new genus, it has been given the name Cretosabethes primaevus. It represents both the first mosquito larva preserved in amber and the first immature mosquito from the Mesozoic Era, as only the fossils of adult mo…
The first mosquito larvae of Mesozoic, caught in amber almost 100 million years ago, resemble modern species. It lived in small pools of water, such as those formed in the hollows of the branches or among the leaves of epiphyte plants. It was there that it was embalmed until science found it.
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