Water Mite

colour photo of a small red coloured insect on a white surface

colour photo of a small red and black insect on a white surface

Water Mite

Kingdom: Animalia 

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Arachnida

Order: Trombidiformes

These tiny organisms are found in nearly every freshwater ecosystem but, believe it or not, they’re actually more closely related to the spiders, ticks, and mites we find on land than other aquatic invertebrates! To breathe underwater, they absorb dissolved oxygen all over their body and this allows them to live even in low-oxygen and polluted environments.