On 29th October 1807 an Invermoriston woman awoke to find a Bengal tiger in her house.
It leapt 16ft across the room at her before being chased outside. It had escaped from a menagerie at Brahan Castle and was said “to have done considerable mischief”
n. In Gaelic folklore, the smallest of all animals. Also known as a gigelorum. The only thing being known about it is that it lives in the ears of mites.
At 79 µm, microdispid mites are the smallest known arthropods. The mite pictured lives as a hitchhiker on termites in Ethiopia (including on the termites “ears”).
And if anyone is curious, termites’ ears are just above their knees.
Khaustov, A.A., and W. Zelalem (2017) Two new genera of mite family Microdispidae (Acari: Heterostigmata) associated with Macrotermes subhyalinus (Isoptera: Termitidae) from Ethiopia. International Journal of Acarology 43: 223-231
Campbell, J.G. (1900) Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. James MacLehose and Sons, Glasgow. pg. 220