#neobisiidae

[razehider]

i complain a lot about how tiny my local pseudoscorpions are - and who doesn't, unless you're blessed with giants like some people are for some reason - so it feels like my prayers were being half-assedly answered when i found this ballooned up molecule, although whether its unusual girth was due to eggs or the little oribatid mite it was munching on i cannot say

(December 8th, 2025)

[razehider]

all the pseudoscorpions i find around here are unreasonably tiny Chthonius, so this somewhat bigger and shinier one (possibly Neobisium sp.) really stood out. it was nice to be able to watch one scuttle around without having to squint, a surprisingly fun activity considering it's basically akin to watching a very tiny roomba with a dying battery

(January 25th, 2025)

[astronomy-to-zoology]

Neobisium maritimum

...a species of pseudoscorpion that is  distributed throughout the western coasts of the British Isles. N.maritimum is typically found in rock crevices and under stones in the supralittoral zone. There it will feed mostly on springtails and other small littoral arthropods. N.maritiumum will build a silken nest in the crevices it inhabits, which hold air pockets when submerged allowing the pseudoscorpion to survive high tides.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Arthropoda-Chelicerata-Arachnida-Pseudoscorpionida-Neobisiidae-Neobisium-N.maritimum

Images: Steve Trewhella