Stygotantulus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Crustacea |
Class: | Maxillopoda |
Subclass: | Tantulocarida |
Family: | Basipodellidae |
Genus: |
Stygotantulus Boxshall & Huys, 1989 |
Species: | S. stocki |
Binomial name | |
Stygotantulus stocki Boxshall & Huys, 1989 |
Stygotantulus stocki is a species of crustacean, living as an ectoparasite on harpacticoid copepods of the families Tisbidae and Canuellidae. It is one of the smallest arthropods in the world, at a length of less than 0.1 millimetres (0.004 in). The specific epithet stocki commemorates Jan Hendrik Stock, a Dutch carcinologist. Another contender for the world's smallest arthropod is Tantulacus dieteri, with a total body length of only 85 micrometres (0.0033 in).