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Photo#468563
Might be a mite

Might be a mite
Sandia Mnts, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, USA
October 17, 2010
Size: 0.8 mm
This critter was found in leaf litter detritus. It appears to have a fringe of plate-like membranes around the periphery. It looks like it has 4 pairs of legs so I'm guessing a mite, though no photos in Bugguide seemed to come close.

Images of this individual: tag all
Might be a mite Might be a mite Might be a mite

from D.E. Walter:
"Yes, it is a nymph (looks like a tritonymph) of a member of the Cepheidae. Many of these mites are more or less arboreal (especially the ones with the more spectacular nymphs) and the leaf-like setae presumably help them maintain humidity and protect them from predators in their exposed bark/stem habitats. Ernst Haeckel made some nice images of some of these mites which you can see in the corners of this plate. At each moult, the central part of the exuviae on the back of the mite is retained and they stack up like a pagoda as the animal continues to moult. [This individual] seem[s] to have larval, protonymphal, and deutonymphal exuviae visible, so it is a last stage nymph (tritonymph).
"Cepheidae is actually a junior synonym of a family of jellyfish and is in the process of being replaced, but it is what we call them now."

Moved from ID Request.

 
thanks
Wow, that was quick. Thanks much. It was under a newly fallen Douglas Fir, so maybe not characteristic of the leaf litter.

Cool!
I'd guess mite as well, but certainly can't say for sure. While waiting for the experts, you might want to have a go at this interactive key.

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