''Scydosella'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of beetles that consists of
only one species ''Scydosella musawasensis''. The species is regarded as the smallest free-living insect, as well as the smallest beetle. They are among
featherwing beetle, named because of their feather-like spiny wings. It was first discovered in
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
, and described in 1999 by Wesley Eugene Hall of the
University of Nebraska State Museum
The University of Nebraska State Museum, also known as Morrill Hall, founded in 1871, is a natural history museum featuring Nebraska biodiversity, paleontology, and cultural diversity, located on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln City Campus nea ...
. The initial discovery consisted of very few specimens, and exact measurements were not conclusive. Because of their tiny size, they were difficult to observe under microscope after preservation. The generally accepted size was 0.300 mm in length. On 8 February 2015, Alexey Polilov of the
Lomonosov Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
collected 85 specimens in Chicaque National Park,
Colombia. They were discovered on a layer of fungus on which they feed. From these specimens exact measurements could be made, and was found that the smallest individual is only 0.325 mm long. The largest individual is 0.352 mm long, and the average length of all the specimens is 0.338 mm. The body is elongated and oval in shape, yellowish-brown in colour, and its antennae are split into 10 segments.
See also
*
Smallest organisms
The smallest organisms found on Earth can be determined according to various aspects of organism size, including volume, mass, height, length, or genome size.
Given the incomplete nature of scientific knowledge, it is possible that the small ...
References
External links
Taxonomy at Global Biodiversity Information FacilitySystematic position at Insectoid
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21092625
Beetles of North America
Beetles described in 1999
Beetles of South America
Ptiliidae
Monotypic Staphyliniformia genera