Top 10 smallest animals in the world
Biologists with great enthusiasm are looking for the most interesting things on the planet. And when they find something, they rejoice like children! Have you ever wondered which animals on Earth are considered the smallest?
It’s hard to believe, but some of the animal species are just tiny. For example, a snake lives in the Caribbean, the length of which is only 10 cm – it easily fits in the palm of your hand.
Are you curious to know which creature on Earth is almost imperceptible to the human eye? We present you the 10 smallest animals in the world at present: a rating of the inhabitants of our planet with photos and names.
Contents
10 Sealed man (turtle)
Body length and weight of an adult: 10-11 cm, 95-165 g.
The smallest turtle in the world is considered Signed manliving in the south of the African continent. It feeds mainly on flowers, less on leaves and stems.
Like many representatives of the animal world, the turtle has developed sexual dimorphism – that is, females are much larger than males, in addition, their shell is wider and higher.
Homopus signatus carapace is light beige with small black spots. It lives in those places where it can easily hide: under stones or in narrow crevices, escaping from predators – due to its tiny size, the turtle has no problems with this.
9. Craseonycteris thonglongyai (bat)
Body length and weight of an adult: 3 cm, 1.7 g.
Craseonycteris thonglongyai (she is “swine” and “bumblebee”) is not only the smallest animal in the world, but also the smallest member of the mammal class.
The mouse got its name because of the muzzle – it is flat and fleshy, resembling a pig, and is located between very small eyes. Some representatives of the class, compared with her, seem like real giants.
Distinctive features of such an unusual bat include wide and long wings, the loss of a tail and an unusual muzzle. The coloration of the mouse on the back is reddish-brown, and lighter towards the bottom. The diet of this crumb includes insects.
Interesting fact: the discovery of the pig mouse belongs to the biologist Kitty Thonglongya from Thailand, who described the animal in 1973.
8. Tetracheilostoma carlae (snake)
Body length and weight of an adult: 10 cm, 0.5 g.
Are you afraid of snakes? Look at this miracle – it definitely won’t scare you! The smallest snake Tetracheilostoma carlae was opened on the island of Barbados in 2008.
The little one prefers to hide away from everyone, choosing stones and grass for her shelter, and the only place where she feels comfortable is the forests growing in the eastern and central parts of the island.
This type of snake is blind, and it feeds on ants and termites. Because there is deforestation on the island, it can be assumed that the species is threatened with extinction. Tetracheilostoma carlae is not poisonous.
7. Suncus etruscus
Length and weight of an adult: 3.4 cm, 1.7 g.
Smallest mammal suncus etruscus (differently “shrew”) resembles in appearance an ordinary shrew, but only in a miniature size.
Despite its size, the shrew is a predator – it eats various insects, including pests, bringing great benefits to nature and man with its activities. This miracle lives in Southern Europe, in North Africa, in the territory of South China, etc.
An incredibly fast metabolism causes the shrew to consume twice as much food as its own weight, maintaining its body temperature at the proper level. It’s hard to imagine, but the heart of this baby is beating at a speed of 25 beats per second.
6. Mellisuga helenae (hummingbird)
Length and weight of an adult: 6 cm, 2 g.
This unique tiny bird flaps its wings at 90 times per second while hovering over tropical flowers to sip nectar. It’s hard to believe, but the heart of a hummingbird makes 300 to 500 beats per minute.
Honeysuckle Helen was discovered in 1844 in Cuba by Juan Cristobal. The paws of hummingbirds are very small – they are larger and do not need them, because most of their time they are in flight.
Hummingbirds are loners in all aspects, except for the moment when it is necessary to take care of the reproduction of offspring. During the mating season, males attract females with their singing – the females, in turn, listen to them and choose a mate for themselves.
5. Sphaerodactylus ariasae (геккон)
Length and weight of an adult: 1.6 cm, 0.2 g.
pygmy gecko – the smallest lizard in the world, which was discovered in 2001. You can see it only on the small island of Beata, not far from the coast of the Dominican Republic.
Sphaerodactylus ariasae translated as sphere – round, dactylus – finger. The name is due to the fact that the phalanges of the lizard end in round suction cups. Unlike other genera of geckos, these babies have round pupils.
Only experienced terrarium keepers can keep such a cute baby at home, because. if she escapes, it will be almost impossible to find her.
4. Hippocampus denise (seahorse)
Adult length: 1 see.
Perhaps you can’t wait to learn more about this cute seahorse? Let’s start! Hippocampus denise lives in the depths of the sea, and is the smallest among the rest of the seahorses. Tiny creatures live alone or in small groups.
These animals are masters of disguise – the yellowish-orange coloration allows them to easily blend in with the branches of the coral, among whose branches they live, and “hide”.
The camouflage of Denis’ horse turned out to be so effective that the animal was discovered only due to the fact that, along with its home – a gorgonian branch, ended up in the laboratory.
3. Brookesia minima (chameleon)
Adult length: 1 see.
Nature never ceases to amaze us! Brookesia minima belongs to the chameleon family, and is the smallest species on the planet. All animals of this species live on the territory of the island of Madagascar, lead a hidden lifestyle. During the day they prefer to hide in the forest floor, and at night they climb trunks to sleep.
You can only see this crumb by chance, because like all chameleons, this species changes the color of the skin depending on the environment that surrounds it, in addition, it is hardly possible to see the animal in its natural environment, because it does not exceed 1 cm in length . Brookesia minima includes 30 species.
2. Paedocypris progenetica (fish)
Length and weight of an adult: 7.9 mm, 4 g.
This baby looks like a fry. The fish is almost completely missing the skull, which is why it is in a vulnerable state. Paedocypris progenetica was discovered in 2006 in one of the swamps of the island of Sumatra by a team of scientists.
Before this amazing find, it was believed that various animals could not live in the waters of Indonesia. But after the scientists managed to make a discovery, biologists studied the area well, and, as you might already guess, they discovered many new species of animals, as well as plants.
Interesting fact: after a team of scientists discovered Paedocypris progenetica, the fish became pets – they are kept in mini aquariums.
1. Paedophryne (frog)
Adult length: 7.7 mm.
Our amazing selection ends with Paedophryne – a frog, which is smaller than a fingernail on a human finger.
This species was discovered quite by accident by two researchers in 2009 thanks to microphones for recording sounds. The recordings repeated a signal with a frequency of ≈ 9000 Hz, similar to the croaking of a frog.
The researchers began to actively search the surroundings of the village of Amau, becoming interested in the sound, and how amazed they must have been! Only 4 species of Paedophryne have been found in nature, and all of them live in Papua New Guinea.
