Rare Prehistoric Mosquito Fossil Discovered With Belly Full of Dried Blood Still Intact

A team of U.S. researchers has discovered a rare prehistoric fossil of a female mosquito with a belly full of intact ancient animal dried blood from a lakebed in Montana. This incredible discovery shows how little insects have changed over the period of time.

The well preserved 46 million- year- old mosquito fossil was one of the two mosquitoes discovered in the shale deposits (type of rock formed from sediments deposited at the bottom of water bodies in which decomposition of organic remains take place slowly)of the lake. It seems the prehistoric mosquito pierced into some ancient animal that could either be a mammal or a bird. After sucking in a belly full of blood, the mosquito died and fell into the present day Montana lake without causing any damage to its fragile blood- filled abdomen.

According to Dale Greenwalt, a researcher at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, who discovered the mosquito fossil, fortunately the mosquito didn't decompose but became fossilized over the course of many years. The fossil of the prehistoric mosquito was given to the museum, LiveScience reports.

The researchers used a state of the art technology called 'non destructive mass spectrometry' to get the chemical picture of the mosquito's last meal. They basically looked for iron and porphyrin molecules that are two major components present in haemoglobin, the protein found in blood.

The mosquito fossil, which was from the Eocene epoch (19 million years after dinosaurs went extinct), was attacked with molecules of bismuth, which vaporized the chemicals present in the fossil. With the help of mass spectrometer the chemicals were analyzed. This technique preserves the sample and does not cause any damage. The analysis uncovered the hidden porphyrins present in the fossilized mosquito's abdomen.

Since the DNA cannot be preserved for a long time, it was impossible for the researchers to predict the creature the mosquito last snacked on. DNA fails to survive for more than 6.8 million years and scientists cannot retrieve any genetic material with the existing technology, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

This news is a disappointment to those who think the Jurassic Park can be recreated. Because in real life the concept of using blood from a mosquito to create clones is highly impossible.

"The discovery also shows that blood-filled mosquitoes were already feeding at that time, suggesting that they were around much earlier and could have fed on dinosaurs," said George Poinar, a paleo-entomologist at Oregon State University, who wasn't involved in the research.

CLICK HERE to view picture of the rare fossilized mosquito. 

The findings were published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.