What does the world's youngest bug look like?

Recently, scientists have published the world's smallest insect, with the size of a single-celled organism.

Identify the world's smallest creature

The bug, called Scydosella musawasensis, has been confirmed by the scientific community as the world's smallest independent living insect (free-living). Scientists say that the size of this beetle is as small as some single-celled organisms.

S. musawasensis - the smallest independent living insect in the world.

S. musawasensis is the first beetle species found in 1955 in Nicaragua (a country in Central America). However, in 1999 this bug was specifically described by the scientific community and it was not until recently that scientists realized that the bug was capable of living independently. Currently, about 85 individuals of S. musawasensis from Columbia are kept at Lomonosov Moscow University (Russia).

According to Dr. Alexey Polilov of the University of Lomonosov Moscow, these beetles are surprisingly small, with an individual size of only 0.325mm.

Although the size of S. musawasensis is not the smallest, it is 3 times larger than the Dicopchnomorpha eschmepterygis, but D. eschemepterygis cannot live independently but needs a parasitic host.

D. eschemepterygis - the world's smallest parasitic beetle.

Polivov confirmed: "So far, S. musawasensis is an independent living insect of the smallest size".

According to his report, the beetles live mainly in areas with decaying leaves, woody items, even animal manure.

Dr. Polivov said in the past, identifying the world's smallest beetles was actually more difficult than we thought. However, with modern technology today, all kinds of electron microscopes and specialized software have helped scientists to confirm this record.

According to the doctor's record, S. musawasensis has an average size of about 0.338mm, of which the largest individual reaches 0.352mm - that is, super small.

Polivov added: "The smallest insects are attracting the attention of the scientific community, because that could be a specimen to study the future reduction of animals. This species is a multi- species . the smallest cells , with many unique morphological characteristics unique to multicellular organisms ".

The doctoral study is published in the World Insects' Annual Review.