It is always interesting to talk and discuss about animals. Animal has been one of the unique and interesting living things to be explored. Animals come in different sizes, ranging from huge animals to small animals or even tiny animals.
By its size, animals are formed to have different features that enable them to survive in their own habitat.
You might be wondering whether an ant is the smallest animal. However, there are some other smallest animals in the world that you never know or you are not familiar with.
Apart from their tiny sizes, they are incredibly amazing. They have some uncommon features that other animals do not have. Let’s see the top 8 smallest animals in the world you never know.
- Long-tailed Planigale
Long-tailed Planigale is known as one of the top 8 smallest animals in the world you never know. It is also known as the smallest marsupial and mammal ever exists.
Its size is only around 3 to 4 millimeters from top to bottom. Its entire body seems to be flat, including the skull. This flat skull enables the long-tailed Planigale to get into the smallest cracks of soil in order to find its prey.
This type of marsupial exists mostly in Northern part of Australia where the cracked soil is rich in larvae, insects and even young mammals.
- Paedocypris Fish
Most fish are small, aren’t they? But there is a fish that is the tiniest, named Paedocypris Fish. Its adult size fits squarely on the end of your fingertip. It is mostly found in swamps and streams area in Southeast Asian islands, such as Borneo, Sumatera and Bintan.
One unique thing about this fish is that it can only survive in water that is acidic. However, unfortunately, these small fish’s habitat is getting less nowadays because most of the acidic swamps and streams in Southeast Asia are evaporating very quickly. If this continues to happen, then there won’t be any comfortable habitat for Paedocypris Fish anymore.
- Bee Hummingbird
Is it a bee or hummingbird? It is a type of bird that is claimed to be the cutest. It mostly lives in Cuba and the Isle of Youth. Its weight is only around 2.6 grams and its length is only about 6.1 inches (isn’t that so small?).
Surprisingly, the female ones are growing larger than the male ones. This bird is also known photogenic and adorable due to its colorful feather, which consists of bright blue, orange and red across its body.
- Sphaerodactylus Ariasae
It is well-known as the Jaragua Sphaero, or the Jaragua Dwarf Gecko. It is a small species of lizard with its length around 16 to 18 millimeters. This small species of lizard can only be found in Jaragua National Park, in the extreme southwest of the Dominican Republic and nearby Beata Island. If you are interested to know more about this gecko, read Jaragua Gecko to know more about it.
- Brookesia Micra Chameleon
It is the smallest type of chameleon which measures only up to 29 millimeters in length. This type of chameleon can only be found in Nosy Hara island in Madagascar.
One of the interesting characters of chameleon is camouflaging, get to know why chameleons camouflage themselves.
- Thorius Arboreus
This is a type of tiny salamanders that has been sliding around the forest floors in Sierra de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico. However, sadly to say, because of recent illegal logging and practices of agriculture, the number of this species has been decreasing greatly. Its small size is around 16.1 to 18.4 millimeters in length and it can be distinguished easily by its big and bug-like eyes.
- Paedophryne Amauensis Frog
This is the smallest frog species and vertebrate ever known. Its length is around 7.7 millimeters and it was discovered just in 2009 by an American scientist who was sifting through dirt in Papua New Guinea area.
This type of frog can easily camouflage among leaf litter on the floor of tropical forests, so it will be quite hard to find it. If you are curious about other animals living in rain forest, get the knowledge about characteristics of animals living in rainforest.
- Hippopocampus Denise
It has other names: Denise’s pygmy seahorse or the yellow pygmy seahorse. It is one of the smallest seahorses ever found. Its length is approximately 2.4 centimeters.
This species is also known to be the rare one and can only be found in certain areas, such as Indonesia, Vanuatu, Palau, Malaysia and the Solomon islands.
This species of seahorse has similar features with other seahorses, such as the male broods the eggs in its ventral brood pouch and the “pups” are delivered through the pouch and explore out on its own.
If you are interested in having seahorse as a pet, then this guide to take care of seahorse as your new pets may be useful for you.
It’s interesting to know the top 8 smallest animals in the world you never know. By knowing these 8 smallest animals in the world, your mind will not only think about ant as the smallest animal, but there are some other species that are even smaller than an ant.
Enrich your knowledge about animals by knowing animals which have amazing sense of smell and most colorful animals on Earth.