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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Arachnids (Arachnida) » Mites and Ticks (Acari) » Acariformes » Oribatida
Photo#172415
Mystery MIte
Copyright © 2008 Jonas Insinga

Mystery MIte
University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA
March 9, 2008
Found in a large soil sample taken around the base of a willow tree.
Is this some type of Oribatid mite?
Sorry for the quality of the photography, but in order to document it, I had to focus my camera through the eye-piece of my microscope.

It seemed like it has some sort of crust or dried skin stuck to it's body. There were atleast two of these, both with the same crusty features.

Images of this individual: tag all
Mystery MIte Mystery MIte Mystery MIte Mystery MIte
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Contributed by Jonas Insinga on 9 March, 2008 - 4:26pm
Last updated 31 March, 2008 - 9:10am

Based on the series, this loo
Based on the series, this looks a lot like a damaeoid oribatid to me - so superfamily Damaeoidea.
… Charles Stephen, 7 May, 2008 - 4:55pm login or register to post comments

Oribatid
Definitely an oribatid mite. There are many characters visible to ID this group (including a body divided into two regions, and very heavy sclerotization), but a gestalt approach probably works best with this group. Many oribatids (especially juveniles) pack debris on enlarged dorsal setae. Some species have setae greatly modified for this purpose. Cool beast!
… Ray Fisher, 30 March, 2008 - 8:07pm login or register to post comments

 
Thank you!
Oh, thank you!
I was about to think I'd get not responses for people! :)
I have scans from a book from my college library (along with citations, don't worry) of biological plates documenting British oribatids. Some of them looked very similar to both this guy & others I've seen in the guide.
… Jonas Insinga, 31 March, 2008 - 2:15pm login or register to post comments

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