Cochlodispus minimus

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

Taxonomy
The Microdispidae are the least diverse family of pygmephoroid mites, with 20 described genera and about 120 species. Most members of this family are fungivores, although some may be parasitoids of insects. Cochlodispus minimus is one of 11 species currently described from the genus Cochlodispus. 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).