Smallest vertebrate in the world found in Papua New Guinea: Frog measures just 7mm

By
Tamara Cohen

Last updated at 10:10 PM on 11th January 2012

Perched on a coin the size of a 5p piece, there is still probably room for two.

At half the size of a Smartie sweet, this is the world’s smallest frog, measuring just a quarter of an inch long.

Scientists discovered the previously unknown creature, speckled in red and black, sitting on a leaf on the tropical island of Papua New Guinea.

Miniscule: This tiny frog, believed to be the smallest vertebrate on Earth, has been discovered by scientists in Papua New Guinea

Miniscule: This tiny frog, believed to be the smallest vertebrate on
Earth, has been discovered by scientists in Papua New Guinea

At just 7.7mm in size when fully grown, it has snatched the title as the smallest of the world’s 60,000 vertebrates – creatures with a backbone – previously held by a tiny Indonesian fish which measures 7.9mm.

Experts are baffled by the find as it was previously thought extreme body size in vertebrates, whether large or small, was associated with living in water.

Professor Chris Austin, of Louisiana
State University, who discovered the frog on a three-month field trip to
the Pacific island, said by contrast these creatures make their
habitats on fallen leaves on the floor of tropical rainforests.

The tiny creature was discovered in Amau, Papua New Guinea

The tiny creature was discovered in Amau, Papua New Guinea

His
discovery of the creatures, named Paedophryne amanuensis after a
village called Amau near where they were found, will help scientists
understand more about extreme body size, he wrote in the journal PLoS
One.

They are thought to have evolved
‘extreme miniaturisation’ to fill a hole in the food chain which was not
being exploited by others, perhaps to eat minuscule creatures such as
mites which would not sustain larger frogs.

It
was no easy job to find one, but his team followed the high-pitched
calls made by adult males when they are looking for a mate.

The
tiny specimen fits comfortably on a US dime, which measures 17.9mm,
slightly smaller the size of a 5p piece which measures 18mm.

Prof
Austin said: ‘We now believe they aren’t just biological oddities, but
instead represent a previously undocumented ecological guild – they
occupy a habitat niche that no other vertebrate does.

‘It
was particularly difficult to locate Paedophryne amauensis due to its
diminutive size and the males’ high pitched insect-like mating call.
‘But it’s a great find.

New Guinea is a hotspot of biodiversity, and
everything new we discover there adds another layer to our overall
understanding of how biodiversity is generated and maintained.’

This tiny fish discovered in the peat swamps of Indonesia was previously thought to be the world's smallest vertebrate

Tiddler: Paedocypris progenetica,  a tiny fish discovered in the peat swamps of Indonesia and measuring 7.9mm was previously thought to be the world’s smallest vertebrate

And the largest: Adult blue whales measure around 26m

Distant cousin: The largest of the world’s 60,000 vertebrates, the blue whale, measures around 26m

The Louisiana team, from the university’s Museum of Natural Sciences, also found a second new and slightly larger frog which they called Paedophryne swiftorum and measures 8.3 – 8.9 mm.

Tiny frogs tend to life in rainforests because their small bodies are particularly susceptible to water loss, and scientists cannot rule out finding an even smaller one there one day.

Biologists are very interested in why vertebrates vary so much in size, with the world’s largest, with an adult blue whale measuring around 26m.

Until now the smallest was Paedocypris progenetica, a tiny transparent fish related to the carp found off Sumatra in Indonesia.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

Humans will shrink to this size one day when we overpopulate the world and we have to be smaller to survive.

You know, politicians SHOULD receive recognition as being the smallest minded vertebrates; but then they don’t have a backbone, so I guess that they don’t count as vertebrates anyway. Pity. It would be nice for them to be recognised for anything other than bland.

New leader of the Labour Party?

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes