The gallinipper is a cryptid in the African-American folk tradition.[1] These creatures were said to be a species of giant mosquitoes so big that their bones could fence a 140-acre field.[2][1] A popular telling of the legends has the creature get its bill out of a tree trunk, with the animal being large enough to clear 140 acres of land during the struggle.[3][1][4] Gallinipper tales were appropriated as a feature of minstrel shows, but have also appeared in American blues songs such as "Mosquito Moan" by Blind Lemon Jefferson [Paramount 12899], 1929.[5]
^ abcDorson, Richard M. (1954). "Negro Tales". Western Folklore. 13 (2/3). Western States Folklore Society: 160–169. doi:10.2307/1520611. JSTOR1520611.