Bizarre Jurassic Parasite Feasted on Salamander Blood

About 165 million years ago during the Jurassic, a bizarre parasite lived in the freshwater lakes of present-day Inner Mongolia. This fly larva possessed a thorax formed entirely like a sucking plate; now, researchers have taken a closer look at this strange creature, which no known insect mimics in this modern day.

The parasite was about two centimeters long and could adhere to salamanders and suck their blood with its mouthparts, formed like a sting. The head was tiny in comparison to the body, tube-shaped with piercer-like mouthparts at the front. And the abdomen had caterpillar-like legs.

The creature wasn't the only one to be unearthed at the location near Nincheng in Inner Mongolia, though. The scientists also found other fossils, revealing that there were many salamanders in the lakes that were there millions of years ago. They also found other species.

"There scientists had also found around 300,000 diverse and exceptionally preserved fossil insects," said Bo Wang, one of the researchers, in a news release.

Yet the parasite is one of the more intriguing finds. No insect today exists with a comparable body shape. In addition, the bizarre larva has remained well-preserved to the present day, partly due to the find-grained mudstone in which it was embedded.

The findings reveal a little bit more about this strange larva. That said, the researchers aren't sure what the adult form of this insect might be. They are sure, though, that the parasite wouldn't kill the salamanders that they feasted on. Instead, it would likely just grow into an adult insect after completing its metamorphosis and feeding on the salamander.

The findings are published in the journal eLife.