The Smallest Living Animals
Published by As defined by volume, mass, height or length, these are the smallest living animals today.
Smallest Amphibian: Monte Iberia Eleuth; Brazilian Gold Frog
Monte Iberia Eleuth 
Brazilian Gold Frog
The Monte Iberia Eleuth and the Brazilian Gold Frog tied as the smallest amphibian, frog and tetrapod. Both species, Eleutherodactylus Iberia and Brachycephalus didactylus has a maximum length of 3.8 in (9.9 mm) long. The critically endangered Monte Iberia Eleuth was discovered in 1996 on Mount Iberia and is native only in two small regions in Cuba.
Smallest Reptile: Jaragua Sphaero; Virgin Gorda Least Gecko
The endangered Jaragua Sphaero or dwarf gecko (Sphaerodactylus ariasae) and the Virgin Gorda Least Gecko (S. parthenopion) share the record as the world’s smallest reptiles. Both adult lizards reach a maximum length of 18 mm (1.6 cm) from snout to base of the tail and can fit on a quarter. The dwarf gecko inhabits the Jaragua National Park in the Dominican Republic and Beata Island in Haiti and the Virgin Gorda is native to the British Virgin Islands.
Smallest Mammal: Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat
Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai), also known as the bumblebee bat, found in the limestone caves along rivers of western Thailand and southeast Myanmar is considered as the world’s smallest mammal. It was discovered by Thai zoologist Kitti Thonglongya in the early 1970’s. This vulnerable bat species with its distinctive swollen pig-like snout measures 29-33 mm (1.14–1.30 in) in length and weighs 1.5 to 2 g. The Etruscan Pygmy Shrew is also sometimes recognized as the smallest mammal by mass; although a bit lighter, its body size is longer than the bumblebee bat.
Smallest Insect: Dicopomorpha Echmepterygis
The blind and wingless parasitic wasp (Dicopomorpha echmepterygis ) is known as the earth’s smallest insects at 139 μm long. The adult male of this bizarre species found in Illinois, USA mate with their sisters inside the egg of a lepidopsocid barklouse (Echmepteryx hageni) and die without ever leaving the host egg.
Smallest Turtle: Speckled Padloper Tortoise
With a maximum length of only 8 cm (3.1 in), the Speckled Padloper Tortoise (Homopus signatus) of South Africa is the smallest living turtle. The diminutive turtle snacks on small succulent plants.
Smallest Bird: Bee Hummingbird
The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) at a mere 5 cm (2 in) is so small it can be mistaken for a bee. It is native to Cuba and the isle of Youth where it is called Zunzun or Zununcito. It weighs about 1.8 g (0.063 oz); the wings beat 80 times per second and up to 200 times when mating. The bee hummingbird is known as the smallest bird and smallest warm-blooded vertebrate.
Smallest Crocodilian: Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman
The Cuvier’s Dwarf Caiman or Musky Caiman is an alligator found in northern and central South America. The Paleosuchus palpebrosus reaches only a maximum length of 1.6 m (5.2 ft) and weigh up to 7 kg making it the smallest crocodilian species. Most caimans have five upper premaxillary teeth but Cuvier’s Dwarf only have four; it also has the most number of bony plates covering its skin among all species.
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19 Responses to “The Smallest Living Animals”
On May 22, 2009 at 7:18 am
awesome pics
On May 22, 2009 at 7:25 am
Excellent!..that was wonderful and well written piece..LOV it..Well done and thanks for sharing this great stuff.
On May 22, 2009 at 7:26 am
An extremely interesting presentation of the smallest living animals. I learned quiet about from reading it. Thanks for sharing.
On May 22, 2009 at 8:26 am
well done
On May 22, 2009 at 9:30 am
i loved the accompanying photos that enhanced a beautifully scripted article. well done!!
On May 22, 2009 at 9:46 am
See Hummingbirds all the time but have never seen the rest in person unless i missed them.
On May 22, 2009 at 9:58 am
These are too small. Great article!
On May 22, 2009 at 10:09 am
great article for small creatures.
On May 22, 2009 at 6:30 pm
The mouse looks like a tiny monkey.
On May 22, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Wow……… so tiny – - what an interesting article!
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
On May 23, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Very enjoyable.
On May 24, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Lovely article… blogged at
http://digg.com/pets_animals/The_Smallest_Living_Animals#
and dugg at Webphemera!
On May 26, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Wonderful article…as always!!
Interesting information and fantastic pictures. I’m definately going to share this with my daughters when they get home today! They’ll LOVE looking at the tiny creatures!
On June 10, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Well, I see someone has been doing an awful lot of research and studying. Good job!
On June 23, 2009 at 10:13 pm
omg…they are so little!
On July 13, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Very interesting, enjoyed it!
On July 14, 2009 at 1:09 am
Just added this to favorites because the kids are going to love it.
On September 6, 2009 at 6:18 am
Great job!
On January 22, 2010 at 6:48 pm
they are so little
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