Leptotrombidium scutellare: No measured body size data available to draw at scale.
- · Grid units represent actual meters (m); human and animals are drawn to the exact same scale with original silhouette aspect ratios preserved.
- · When a size range is recorded (e.g. 1–1.6m), the lower bound is used for scale comparison.
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Leptotrombidium scutellare
Leptotrombidium scutellare (Leptotrombidium scutellare · Leptotrombidium scutellare)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 The shoulder hair length of 58–65 µm is about 0.06 mm, similar to the thickness of a human hair (roughly 0.05–0.1 mm) (Comparison). It is invisible to the naked eye.
- 💡 The National List of Species of Korea notes that this mite is found throughout Korea and that its hosts include brown rats and striped field mice, meaning it can live alongside rodents anywhere in the country.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
Leptotrombidium scutellare is a tiny mite in the family Trombiculidae, distributed throughout Korea as well as in Japan, China, Myanmar, and Thailand.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It has 50 hairs (setae) on the dorsal side of the body, 38 on the ventral side, and 2 pairs of eyes. The scutum is rectangular, and the shoulder hairs (humeral setae) are 58–65 µm long.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
The National List of Species of Korea records brown rats and striped field mice among its hosts. It also describes the number and shape of the hairs and the structure of the scutum in detail as distinguishing features of this species.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed as 'Hwal-sun-teol-jin-deu-gi' (Korean name) on the National List of Species of Korea, which records it as distributed throughout Korea.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 8Z3SG
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000046703 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000046703
- • wikidata.org — Q136629517
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.