Continent Continent A continent is one of several very large landmasses of the world. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, they are: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Geologically, the continents largely correspond to areas of continental crust that are found on the continental plates. However, some areas of continental crust are regions covered with water not usually included in the list of continents. Zealandia is one such area (see submerged continents below). Islands are frequently grouped with
Smallest organisms 0.46 mm. The smallest land snail is "Acmella nana". Discovered in Borneo, Malaysia, and described in November 2015, it measures only 0.7 mm. The previous record was that of "Angustopila dominikae" from China, which was reported in September 2015. This snail measures 0.86 mm. The smallest crustacean, and indeed the smallest arthropod, is the tantulocarid "Stygotantulus stocki", at a length of only . Eriophyid mites measure 125 to 250 μm in length. Adult males of the parasitic wasp "Dicopomorpha echmepterygis" can be as small as 139 μm long, smaller than some species of protozoa (single-cell creatures); females are 40% larger.