Current mosquitoes evolved more recently than previously thought

"Genetic analysis reveals that most living genera of mosquitoes emerged around 73 million years ago."

"A fresh revision of the mosquito family tree suggests that the insects are 100 million years younger than previously thought - and that ancestors of modern mozzies emerged around the same time as the predecessors of Plasmodium - a genus that includes parasites that cause malaria."

Genetic analysis reveals that most living genera of mosquitoes emerged around 73 million years ago. A fresh revision of the mosquito family tree suggests that the insects are 100 million years younger than previously thought. Ancestors of modern mosquitoes emerged around the same time as the predecessors of Plasmodium, a genus that includes parasites that cause malaria. The revised timeline repositions major mosquito lineages into the Late Cretaceous period, altering previous estimates by about 100 million years. The concurrent emergence of mosquito genera and Plasmodium predecessors establishes a closer temporal overlap between vector and parasite evolutionary histories.

Read at Nature