Madagascar’s ribbeting discovery

Five new tiny frog species have been discovered in Madagascar. The largest of the five measures 1.4 cm, while the smallest measures a minute 0.8 cm. These amphibians are some of the smallest frogs in the world as well as among the smallest vertebrates in the animal kingdom. The group of frogs are commonly known as ‘narrow-mouthed’ frogs. Three of the newly-discovered frogs are so small that they make up a new genus: Mini. The full names are Mini scule, Mini mum and Mini ature.

Evolutionary biologist and lead author Mark Scherz spoke to IFLScience about how the names were selected, saying, ‘We searched all the databases we could find, and nobody seemed to have used the name before. From there, the puns just fell into place.’

The smallest of the genus, Mini mum, is approximately 8-11mm, or the size of a staple – just bigger than the length of a rice grain. This frog is found in Monombo in eastern Madagascar.

Mini scule is from Sainte Luce in southeastern Madagascar. This species is slightly bigger than Mini mum and has teeth in its upper jaw. Mini ature is from southeast Madagascar and is slightly larger than the other two but with a similar build.

The fourth species, Rhombophryneproportionalis, is from Tsaratanana in northern Madagascar. The frog is unique as it is a proportional dwarf. The frog is approximately 12mm long but has the same proportions as a bigger frog. The fifth species, Anodonthyla eximia from Ranomafana in eastern Madagascar, is noticeably smaller than other Anodonthyla species.

To read the full journal article on these tiny frogs, click here.

Image source: Twitter @MarkScherz