On Earth you can find lots of animals that surprise every person with its size, external features and behavior. In addition to the water giants, large mammals and fierce predators in the nature of live and tiny fauna.
Today we highlight TOP smallest animals in the world.
As the statistics, many tiny creatures many have never heard, and when you meet them they breathtaking. Ranked, we turn our attention to the inhabitants of ponds, forests and steppes, and the class of amphibians.
Oddly enough, but unique individuals with incredibly small dimensions are found in virtually all classes of animals.
Select representatives:
- the organic world in General;
- amphibians;
- reptiles;
- fish
- mammals;
- birds;
The smallest animal in the organic world
If you take into account the little-studied organic world of nature, the tiny his representative will be a Mycoplasma. Although the name is the creation of an animal is essentially impossible. This is just one of the varieties of living matter of the organic world, which represents the simplest microscopic, single-celled organism.
After examining the structure of such matter, the scientists determined that the cell is missing the kernel. It is difficult to imagine how small is the Mycoplasma.
According to microbiologists, the size of this organism is rarely more than 0.8 microns and is in the range of 0.3-0.8-microns. But despite this, the creature could significantly harm the human body, becoming a causative agent of diseases of the urogenital, circulatory, and immune systems.
The smallest amphibian
Few people know about the existence of a tiny frog Paedophryne , the length of which is equal to 7.7 mm. The largest specimens rarely reach 11,3 mm length and usually they are females. Miniature animal has brown color, so it is almost impossible to spot in the wild, especially on the grass, the bark of trees or in foliage. Due to the tiny size of the frog got presacral vertebrae and regulirovanie the number of fingers.
The frog was first found by American biologists during the expedition in New Guinea. Create several times less than 100-cent coins of the United States of America, so it easily fits on a coin. Amphibious is considered the most tiny animals belonging to the subtype of vertebrates.
The smallest reptiles
The smallest representative of the suborder of lizards is a small brookesia chameleon. Its size is 1-2 mm. Found a chameleon in the forests of Madagascar, but to find it among the foliage is extremely difficult. It is known that such an animal has a unique ability to change the color of their skin in accordance with the colors of the environment.
Also on the list of most reptiles is of little Namaqualand turtle, or as it is called “Cape krupchatka”. If the largest turtles reach 200 pounds of weight, these individuals rarely weigh more than 160 pounds. The average body weight of adult varies between 95-165 pounds with a body length of 6-10 inches. Females always larger than males.
During mating, the males become aggressive not only to other same-sex individuals, but also to females. Because of this, they often fight each other, bite and strike the front edge of the carapace.
The female goes to the winner, and after mating immediately lays tiny eggs into the excavated hole. After four months the light has a newborn that weighs less than 5-8 grams. By the way, weight, it’s smaller than a quail egg, which reaches 10-12 g.
Miniature turtle can be found in South African regions, usually in dry forests and shrub savannas. Currently, the reptiles listed in the Red book as extinct species. Until recently, the tribesinhabiting South Africa, used these animals for medical purposes.
The smallest fish in the world
Ranked the smallest animals in the world can’t ignore a group of fish. According to the latest relevant information in the Guinness Book of records is two members of the group. The first, called Paedocypris progenetica belongs to the family Cyprinidae and is found in the peat swamps of Indonesia. The second ( Photocorybus spiniceps ) in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at depths of 1000 meters, where there is practically no sunlight. The adult reaches 7,9-10,3 mm.
Males are unique spots between the eyes and crown. It is important to note that before the 21st century scientists have not studied the fauna of peat bogs, referring to the high acidity of the water which prevents the formation of any life forms. However, in 2006 they managed to make an incredible discovery in the form of a tiny fish of the carp family. Such a surprise of nature has become a phenomenon of the underwater world. The body length of the female reaches 5-7 cm, and the male 6-9 mm.
After full maturity the males begin looking for females. When they find the right “victim”, that literally bite into her with sharp craws. In the result the male becomes a parasite and starts to eat through the blood vessels of the female. This behavior is called “sexual parasitism”, as male cheeky is saturated due to the fairer sex.
The smallest mammals
Most small mammals are unique animals that may seem a miniature replica of its big counterparts, or characters from a science fiction movie about other worlds. Due to the amazing size of these animals freely climbing plants, thin branches of trees and catch insects in the smallest recesses. Often their size is comparable to the size of a bumblebee.
So, let’s check the tiny mammals that occur in the world.
Dwarf cuscus
And though the dwarf cuscus is more reminiscent of the tiny chinchillas, it belongs to the family of marsupials and compared with kangaroos. Adult length of couscous varies in the range of 5-10 cm with a weight of 10-45 grams.
Like other relatives of these tiny creatures have the habit of doing nocturnal. Using a flexible tail, they easily hang from the branches of trees upside down. The main area – Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Islands of Indonesia. With the coming cold of winter, the animal forms a dense tangle, and closed his eyes ears, goes into hibernation. By reducing the metabolic needs in the diet no. For wintering collected enough for the warm season nutrients that are found in the oil deposits of the tail.
American zemleroynoy mole
The length of this mammal reaches 6 inches, while the tail grows up to 2,5 cm Tiny nubbin is found in the forests of the North-Western part of the United States and in Canada, in places with high humidity.
Pet has characteristic of other moles a long snout with a flat end and sharp claws that enable him to quickly pull out the deep tunnels under the ground. Cancellation from neighbors, leading an underground life, these miniature moles often come to the surface of the earth in search of food. They often prey on insects, scrambling over bushes and plants.
The Etruscan shrew mouse
The weight of an adult mouse Etruscan shrews is equal to 2 grams. Body length of 3.5-inches, while the tail reaches 1/3 of the length of the body.
The mouse is an impressive appetite, because she is able to eat a lot of feed, approximately twice its weight. And it every day. Also for the crumbs of a typical elevated heart rate, about 25 beats per second or 1500 beats per minute. For example, the human heart does 72-80 beats per minute.
Most often, the Etruscan mouse meet in the wet fields of southern Europe, North Africa and the middle East.
The little birds
Among the smallest birds in the world can be divided into the following types:
- Cuban bird-the bee Hummingbird. It is considered the smallest bird in the world and the smallest warm-blooded animals. Length of adult males from beak to tail hardly reaches 5 centimeters. Females are slightly more, although if you compare them with butterflies or beetles, they still seem real small. The size of a bird little bigger than bees, due to what the Hummingbird was called “little bee”. Distinctive features of Hummingbird is the incredible speed of the beating wings, which is 80 times per second, bright color brilliant peryshkov and a sharp beak – a tool for the extraction of flower nectar.
- Goldcrests. In forests of the Russian Federation and considered the tiny songbird in the world. They can only live in the wild, so any attempt of detention in the cell lead to the death of Chicks. Birdie needs a constant search for food as larvae, small insects and their eggs. Feed the king anything, because his diet needs to be balanced. The length of the body of the Wren is up to nine inches, and weight 5-6 gram.
- The wrens – another kind of the smallest birds in the world, which reaches 10.7 inches of length. From the above Korolkov these birds differ only in weight. Eat these crumbs spiders and other small insects. Live in Russia.
