Tag Archives: larvae

99-Million-Year-Old Amber Contains the Earliest Mosquito Larvae

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This newly discovered fossil, preserved in amber from Myanmar’s Kachin region, marks the first instance of a mosquito larva found in amber and represents the earliest immature mosquito of the Mesozoic era, designated as a new genus and species: Cletosabetes primaevus. This discovery strongly suggests that the mosquito family Culicidae has its origins in the Jurassic period and indicates that its larval structure has remained largely unchanged for at least the past 99 million years.

Larva of Cletosabetes primaevus. Image credit: Amaral et al., doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2025.09.011.

Mosquitoes comprise a vast group of insects, with over 3,727 known species alive today.

Although small, they are quite noticeable and widely distributed, playing significant roles in ecosystems, human history, and both human and veterinary health.

To date, 31 species of mosquito fossils have been documented. These ancient mosquitoes closely resemble modern species and are classified within the same genus as their modern counterparts.

“The earliest known mosquito fossils are adults, also found in amber dating back about 99 million years,” stated Dr. Andre Amaral from Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich and his team.

“Given their morphological distinctions from living species, they are considered part of a separate group, Burmaculicinae, representing an extinct lineage within Culicidae.”

The authors note that Cletosabetes primaevus belongs to the Sabetini group, which includes existing species.

Similar to the larvae of current Sabetini species, this new species’ larvae likely thrived in small water bodies.

“According to currently uncovered fossils, the evolutionary roots of mosquitoes are believed to be in the Jurassic period, roughly 201 to 145 million years ago,” the researchers remarked.

“Molecular phylogeny analyses yield varying conclusions, from the Triassic to Jurassic periods.”

“Our research strongly indicates that mosquitoes had already diversified during the Jurassic period, with their larval structure remarkably consistent for nearly 100 million years.”

“This finding challenges previous notions regarding the early evolution of this insect group and offers fresh insights into its evolutionary ecology.”

A segment of amber containing Cletosabetes primaevus larvae was sourced from the Kachin Amber Mine in Myanmar’s Hukaung Valley.

This amber dates back to the Late Cretaceous, about 98.79 million years ago.

“This fossil stands out as the larva closely resembles modern species. Unlike other mosquito fossils from this period, it displays distinct morphological features no longer found in today’s species,” Dr. Amaral explained.

A paper detailing Cletosabetes primaevus was published in this month’s edition of Gondwana Research.

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Andre P. Amaral et al. 2025. The first fossilized mosquito larva discovered in 99-million-year-old amber illuminates the evolutionary history of mosquitoes (Diptera: Mosquitoidae). Gondwana Research 150: 154-162; doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2025.09.011

Source: www.sci.news

Cryopreserved Seastar Larvae May Facilitate the Recovery of Key Species

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Giant pink star larvae resumed development after freezing at -200°C

Patrick Webster

In a groundbreaking achievement, researchers have successfully frozen and revived sea star larvae, marking a significant advance in conservation efforts aimed at restoring an endangered keystone species.

Since 2013, Coastal Star Wasting Syndrome has been devastating populations of sunflower stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) and giant pink stars (Pisaster brevispinus) along the North American west coast. The decline of these predators has resulted in a major surge in sea urchins, decimating 97% of the kelp forests in Northern California.

Currently, the sunflower star is considered functionally extinct in California, sparking extensive efforts to cultivate these creatures for eventual reintroduction into their natural habitat.

In January 2025, a giant pink star was birthed at the Pacific Aquarium in Long Beach, California. Just two days later, its larvae were dispatched to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, where they were immersed in liquid nitrogen and stored at -200°C. The following month, they were transported approximately 700 kilometers north to the Sunflower Star Institute in Monterey Bay.

Upon careful thawing, the giant pink star larvae resumed their development, settling on the seabed and transitioning into a boy shape. “No one has ever successfully frozen a sea star at the larval stage and achieved this,” researchers noted.

Sunflower Stars play an important role in the Kelp forest ecosystem

Pat Webster

The successful cultivation of cryopreserved larvae represents a significant milestone for conservationists, as it opens up avenues for reintroducing genetically diverse sunflower stars back into California’s waters. “The larval cycle of the giant pink star closely resembles that of the sunflower stars,” explained Bank, “after which we will move forward with sunflower star rearing.”

Over the past 15 years, marine ecosystems in the North Pacific have faced a growing tide of environmental challenges. “It’s a daunting narrative involving climate change, ocean heat waves, and ecosystem collapse,” remarked Andrew Kim from the Sunflower Star Institute. “However, within Pycnopodia, there lies hope for recovery.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The Cretaceous period larvae possessed advanced eyes

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Paleontologists have discovered three racewing larvae in Myanmar's 100 million Kachin amber with large forward trunks (the eyes of Holometabolan). These specimens show highly developed, simple eye convergent evolution of at least two additional lines, indicating the enormous diversity of Cretaceous larvae.

A larva from Kachin Amber, 100 million years ago. Image credit: Haug et al. , doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.13509.

Adult insects are known for their fascinating and complicated eyes. This allows you to achieve amazing sensory feats when performing functions such as food and peers search.

However, in many insect larvae, these eyes are not yet developed. The simple eyes known as the stem are usually sufficient for these larvae. Often, it is a machine that is mostly eating at this stage.

However, some insect larvae are predators, and a few of these have developed highly efficient imaging systems from simple stems.

“The adults and pups of beetles, bees, flies, butterflies and close relative insects also have complex eyes that are present in some larvae,” says Dr. Carolin Haug, researcher at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

“In contrast, most holometaboran larvae have a small group of up to seven simple eyes, known as stems, on either side of the head.”

“The trunk is inherent to holometaborane, usually a simple structure, often slightly radial oriented, creating a wide field of view.”

“However, the fields of the right and left trunks rarely overlap, but denies binocular vision in the larvae.”

“And more, most stems lack the complex internal structures needed to create images.”

“In contrast, several predatory holometaboran larvae evolved anteriorly directed stems, which were expanded with overlapping fields of vision that promote binocular vision.”

“Examples include the larvae of diving beetles known as water tigers, tiger beetles, anthraion and the Whirlgihi beetle.”

“The trunk has been reported in over 120 fossil larvae, but no imaging eyes have been identified that allow binocular vision.”

In a new study, the authors discovered three predatory larvae with unusually large and positive trunks in the Cretaceous Cachin Amber.

They found that the size and orientation of the larvae eyes are comparable to the size and orientation of modern anthraions, allowing for similar optical resolution.

“This is evidence of the first fossils of such an eye and therefore the oldest,” Dr. Haug said.

“The highly refined, simple eyes of predatory larvae evolved with a further double convergence, not just anti-, water tigers and tiger beetles, but also at least among extinct larvae.”

“Our results reveal greater diversity in morphology, ecology, and feeding strategies among Cretaceous larvae than today.”

Survey results Published in the journal Insect Science.

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Karolyn Haug et al. Cretaceous horny larvae with binocular vision show convergent evolution of refined, simple eyes. Insect SciencePublished online on February 18th, 2025. doi:10.1111/1744-7917.13509

Source: www.sci.news

China has uncovered impeccably conserved Cambrian insect larvae

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Named Yuti YuanxiThe newly identified euarthropod species fills an important gap in our understanding of how the arthropod body type emerged and was successful in its time. Cambrian Explosion.

Anatomical Overview Yuti YuanxiImage courtesy of Smith others., doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07756-8.

Yuti Yuanxi They lived during the Cambrian period, more than 520 million years ago, when most of the major animal groups known today first evolved.

This species is ArthropodsThis includes modern insects, spiders, and crabs.

It is about the size of a poppy seed, Yuti Yuanxi The organs are well preserved and of excellent quality.

Durham University paleontologist Martin Smith and his colleagues used the advanced scanning technique of synchrotron X-ray tomography to find the Yuti YuanxiThey have found a tiny brain region, digestive glands, a primitive circulatory system, and even traces of the nerves that control the larva's simple legs and eyes.

“When I was daydreaming about the fossils I would most like to find, I always thought about arthropod larvae, because developmental data are so important to understanding their evolution,” Dr. Smith said.

“But because the larvae are so tiny and fragile, I thought the chances of finding a fossilized version were virtually zero.”

“I already knew this simple, worm-like fossil was something special, but when I saw the incredible structures preserved under the skin, my jaw just dropped. How could these complex features have survived decay and still be here after 500 million years?”

“It's always fascinating to see the inside of a sample using 3D imaging, but this incredibly tiny larva has achieved near-perfect preservation through natural fossilisation,” said Dr Katherine Dobson, a palaeontologist at the University of Strathclyde.

“Studying this ancient larva provides important clues about the evolutionary steps required to transform a simple worm-like organism into a sophisticated arthropod body form with specialized limbs, eyes and a brain.”

“For example, the fossil reveals an ancestral 'protocerebral' brain region that would later form the segmented and specialized arthropod head nucleus with its various appendages, including antennae, mouthparts and eyes.”

“This complex head enabled arthropods to adopt a wide range of lifestyles and become the dominant organisms in the Cambrian oceans.”

“These details also help us trace how modern arthropods acquired their incredible anatomical complexity and diversity, making them the most abundant animal group today.”

of Investigation result Published in the journal Nature.

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Mr. Smith othersThe organ system of a Cambrian euarthropod larva. NaturePublished online July 31, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07756-8

Source: www.sci.news