An unprecedented fossil, meticulously preserved within a segment of amber sourced from Myanmar’s Kachin region, marks a significant milestone: it is the inaugural mosquito larva ever discovered encased in amber and the earliest identifiable immature mosquito from the Mesozoic Era. Designated as the novel genus and species Cretosabethes primaevus, this find robustly substantiates the Jurassic origins of the mosquito family Culicidae and strongly implies that their larval form has undergone minimal transformation for a span of at least 99 million years.
Larva of Cretosabethes primaevus. Image credit: Amaral et al., doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2025.09.011.
Mosquitoes constitute a vast assemblage of insects, encompassing over 3,727 extant species.
Notwithstanding their diminutive stature, these insects are exceptionally prominent and geographically ubiquitous, exerting a substantial influence on ecological systems, historical human narratives, and both human and veterinary well-being.
Currently, the scientific community acknowledges 31 fossilized mosquito species. These ancient specimens bear a striking resemblance to their contemporary counterparts and have been categorized within genera that include extant representatives.
“These most ancient known mosquito fossils, originating from adult specimens, were similarly unearthed from amber deposits approximately 99 million years in age,” stated Dr. André Amaral of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, alongside his research collaborators.
“On account of their distinct morphology, which deviates significantly from that observed in modern species, they are interpreted as representative of a separate taxonomic group, Burmaculicinae, representing an extinct lineage within the Culicidae family.”
In accordance with the researchers’ findings, Cretosabethes primaevus is affiliated with the Sabethini tribe, a group that encompasses present-day species.
Analogous to the larval stages of contemporary Sabethini species, it is hypothesized that the larva of this newly identified species inhabited diminutive collections of water.
“The evolutionary genesis of mosquitoes has been posited to lie within the Jurassic period, spanning from approximately 201 to 145 million years ago, based on the paleontological evidence hitherto discovered,” the authors elaborated.
“Estimates derived from molecular phylogenetic analyses exhibit considerable variation, yielding results that range from the Triassic to the Jurassic periods.”
“Our findings furnish compelling evidence supporting the notion that mosquitoes had already undergone diversification by the Jurassic epoch and that the physical characteristics of their larval stages have remained remarkably consistent for nearly 100 million years.”
“This revelation prompts a re-evaluation of prior assumptions concerning the early evolutionary trajectory of this insect group and offers novel perspectives into its evolutionary ecology.”
The amber specimen containing the fossilized larva of Cretosabethes primaevus was recovered from the Kachin amber mines situated in the Hukawng Valley, within the Kachin State of Myanmar.
These geological formations are dated to the Late Cretaceous epoch, specifically 98.79 million years ago.
“This particular fossil is rendered unique by the fact that its larval form exhibits a profound similarity to contemporary species—a stark contrast to all other previously discovered mosquito fossils from this geological era, which displayed highly anomalous morphological attributes no longer present in extant species,” Dr. Amaral commented.
A research article detailing the characteristics of Cretosabethes primaevus was published this month in the esteemed journal Gondwana Research.
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André P. Amaral et al. 2025. First 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). Gondwana Research 150: 154-162; doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2025.09.011
