Cochlodispus minimus

Cochlodispus minimus is a species of mite from the family Microdispidae, formally described by Sándor Mahunka in 1976.^[1] One adult individual was measured with a body length of 79 μm (0.079 mm), making it the smallest known mite species.^[2] It was originally described from Ethiopia, along with cogeners C. africanus and C. fimbrisetus, and inhabits soil and litter.^[3]

Cochlodispus minimus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Trombidiformes
Family:	Microdispidae
Genus:	Cochlodispus
Species:	C. minimus
Binomial name
Cochlodispus minimus Sándor Mahunka, 1976[1]

Taxonomy

The Microdispidae are the least diverse family of pygmephoroid mites, with 20 described genera and about 120 species.^[4] Most members of this family are fungivores, although some may be parasitoids of insects.^[4] Cochlodispus minimus is one of 11 species currently described from the genus Cochlodispus.^[3] It can be distinguished within its genus by the absence of barbs on setae ps₂ (a characteristic shared only with C. zanzibariensis) and by the absence of barbs on setae f and on the setae of the anterior sternal plate (both distinctly barbed in C. zanzibariensis).^[3]

See also

• Smallest organisms
• Stygotantulus Stocki