The family Oripodidae is not well known in South Africa with only one species, Oripoda sumonyii, described and recorded. This paper reports five genera from South and describes a new species, Cryptoribatula austroafricana sp. nov., from yellow lichen on boulders on a beach. The new species differs from the other two species from the genus mainly in the number of notogastral, genital and aggential setae. The male and female of the new species differ slightly from each other. A generic diagnosis is provided as well as selected characteristics of all Oripodidae genera. Keywords: oripodid mites, South Africa, lichens, coast, sexual dimorphism.