Cochlodispus
Cochlodispus is a genus of mites from the family Microdispidae. One member of the genus, Cochlodispus minimus, is considered the smallest known mite species with a recorded adult body length of 79 μm.
Characteristics
The Microdispidae are the least diverse family of pygmephoroid mites, with 20 described genera and about 120 species. Most members of the family are fungivores, although some may be parasitoids of insects. All 11 described species of Cochlodispus inhabit soil and litter. The type species, Cochlodispus cochleatus, was originally designated Microdispus cochleatus by Sándor Mahunka in 1969. Three years later, Mahunka formally described Cochlodispus as a distinct genus.Species
The genus Cochlodispus currently contains 11 species:Cochlodispus africanus Mahunka, 1975 – described from EthiopiaCochlodispus chilensis Mahunka, 1972 – described from ChileCochlodispus cochleatus Mahunka, 1969 – described from BrazilCochlodispus europaeus Mahunka and Mahunka-Papp, 1994 – described from HungaryCochlodispus fimbrisetus Mahunka, 1975 – described from EthiopiaCochlodispus ghilarovi Mahunka, 1977 – described from AbkhaziaCochlodispus minimus Mahunka, 1976 – described from EthiopiaCochlodispus pectinifer Mahunka, 1971 – described from Sri LankaCochlodispus reticordis Mahunka, 1972 – described from New GuineaCochlodispus tarandus Mahunka, 1972 – described from New GuineaCochlodispus zanzibariensis Khaustov and Ermilov, 2018 – described from ZanzibarAn additional species from Belgium was originally described as Cochlodispus operosus but later research suggested it be reassigned to the genus Bakerdania of the family Neopygmephoridae.