Oribatid mites (English spelling)

Japanese: ササラダニ(簓蜱) - ササラダニ（英語表記）oribatid mites

A general term for free-living arthropods belonging to the class Arachnida, order Acari, suborder Oribatei (Oribatida, Cryptostigmata). They are 0.3-1.5mm long, brown to black in color, and often covered with a tough cuticle like a beetle. They live mainly in soil, fallen leaves, and moss, feeding on decaying plant matter, and play an important role as decomposers in the ecosystem. In well-preserved forest soil, tens of thousands of them can live per square meter, and there are several hundred species in Japan. [Aoki Junichi]

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

蛛形（ちゆけい）綱ダニ目ササラダニ亜目Oribatei(Oribatida,Cryptostigmata)に属する自活性の節足動物の総称。体長0.3～1.5mm，褐色～黒色で甲虫のように堅い表皮に覆われるものが多い。おもに土，落葉，コケの中にすみ，植物質の腐りかけたものを食べ，生態系の中で分解者の重要な役割を果たす。自然がよく保たれた森林土壌では1m2当り数万匹も生息し，日本に数百種もいる。【青木淳一】

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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