Fossil study reveals unique feeding habit of male mosquitoes

A study led by a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology and the Lebanese University has extended the fossil record of mosquitoes by nearly 30 million years and has revealed that ancient male mosquitoes were also bloodsuckers.

The study was published online on Monday in the journal Current Biology, which unveiled the remarkable discovery of the oldest-known mosquito fossils — two males entombed in pieces of amber dating back 130 million years during the Cretaceous Period and found near the town of Hammana in Lebanon.

Dany Azar, the Lebanese researcher who led the study, said the fossils not only shed light on the ancient origins of mosquitoes but also revealed their feeding habits during the early stages of their evolution.