science

Opilioacaridae

Opilioacaridae is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Opilioacaridae rather than just read about it. In short: Opilioacaridae is the sole family of mites in the order Opilioacarida, made up of about 14 genera. The mites of this family are rare, large (1.5 to 2.5 mm) mites, and are widely considered primitive, as they retain six pairs of eyes, and abdominal segmentation.

Key takeaways

Opilioacaridae belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Opilioacaridae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Opilioacaridae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Opilioacaridae is the sole family of mites in the order Opilioacarida, made up of about 14 genera. The mites of this family are rare, large (1.5 to 2.5 mm) mites, and are widely considered primitive, as they retain six pairs of eyes, and abdominal segmentation. They have historically been considered separate from other mites belonging to Acariformes and Parasitiformes, but are now generally considered a subgroup of Parasitiformes based on molecular phylogenetics. The first member of the Opilioacarida to be discovered was the Algerian species Opilioacarus segmentatus, which was described by Carl Johannes With in 1902, followed by the Sicilian Eucarus italicus and Eucarus arabicus from Aden, both in 1904. Two fossil specimens are known, one of which was discovered in Baltic amber from the Eocene, while the other one was discovered in the Burmese amber from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) around 99 million years old, tentatively assigned to the living genus Opilioacarus. Members of the group live in semi-arid and tropical environments in leaf-litter, under rocks and in caves. Their diet is known to include arthropod carcasses, fungal spores, and pollen.

Genera These 14 genera belong to the family Opilioacaridae:

References

External links Data related to Opilioacarida at Wikispecies

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Opilioacaridae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Opilioacaridae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Opilioacaridae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Opilioacaridae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Opilioacaridae

In research: Opilioacaridae appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Opilioacaridae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Opilioacaridae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Arachnid families, Parasitiformes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Opilioacaridae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Opilioacaridae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Opilioacaridae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Opilioacaridae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Opilioacaridae in simple terms?

Why does Opilioacaridae matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Opilioacaridae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Opilioacaridae.