• Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

• Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

• Chelicerates (Subphylum Chelicerata)

• Arachnids (Class Arachnida)

• Mites and Ticks (Subclass Acari)

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Subclass Acari comprises the mites and ticks, the largest and most diverse group of arachnids within the class Arachnida, with more than 55,000 described species and hundreds of thousands more believed to remain undiscovered. Members of this subclass occupy virtually every terrestrial, freshwater, and many marine habitats, including soil, leaf litter, plants, fungi, stored foods, freshwater ponds, oceans, and the bodies of animals. Most are extremely small, often microscopic, and are characterized by a compact body in which the head, thorax, and abdomen are largely fused. Acari exhibit extraordinary ecological diversity, functioning as predators, herbivores, scavengers, decomposers, parasites, and filter feeders.