Paratarsotomus macropalpis

Paratarsotomus macropalpis
Details of a large palp (centre), which is the species' distinguishing feature. Also shown are a tarsal claw (right) and the mandibles (bottom left).
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Subclass:
Acari
Order:
Trombidiformes
Family:
Erythracaridae
Genus:
Paratarsotomus
Species:
P. macropalpis
Binomial name
Paratarsotomus macropalpis
(Banks, 1916)[1]

Paratarsotomus macropalpis is a species of mite belonging to the family Erythracaridae.[2] The mite is endemic to Southern California and is usually observed darting amongst sidewalks and in rocky areas.[3] Earlier classified as belonging to genus Tarsotomus, it was reclassified in 1999, along with four other species, to genus Paratarsotomus.[4] It is quite small—0.7 mm[5]—but has been recorded as the world's fastest land animal relative to body length.[6]

  1. ^ "Paratarsotomus macropalpis (Banks 1916) NamebankID: 6035858". Universal Biological Indexer and Organiser (UBio Project). The Marine Biological Laboratory. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  2. ^ Pepato, A. R.; Klimov, P. B. (2015). "Origin and higher-level diversification of acariform mites – evidence from nuclear ribosomal genes, extensive taxon sampling, and secondary structure alignment". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15 (178): 178. Bibcode:2015BMCEE..15..178P. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0458-2. PMC 4557820. PMID 26330076.
  3. ^ PTI (28 April 2014). "Mite runs faster than cheetah, sets record as world's fastest land animal". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  4. ^ Otto, J. C. (1999). "The taxonomy of Tarsotomus Berlese and Paratarsotomus Kuznetsov (Acarina : Anystidae : Erythracarinae) with observations on the natural history of Tarsotomus". Invertebrate Taxonomy. 13 (5): 749–803. doi:10.1071/IT97035.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ncm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) (27 April 2014). "Mite sets new record as world's fastest land animal". Featured Research. ScienceDaily. Retrieved 28 April 2014.