Micranurida pygmaea is a tiny species which reaches 0.6 mm in length. It is probably widely-distributed although under-recorded due to its small size. Micranurida pygmaea is white to bluish-grey in colour, has no anal spines and the furca is absent. The eyes are composed of 2+2 ocelli (sometimes reduced to 1+1 according to the literature although all the specimens I have seen have 2+2) and the post-antennal organ (PAO) is circular with between six and eight lobes (Figs. 1, 2).

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Fig. 1 (above): Head of Micranurida pygmaea collected from Studland Heath, Dorset in July 1971 by Peter Lawrence. The area surrounded by the green box is shown at higher magnification in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 (above): Area highlighted in Fig. 1 at higher magnification. The PAO has six lobes and there are two ocelli.