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World's Smallest Reptile, Small Enough to Fit on Fingertip, Has Been Found in Madagascar
News 18Scientists have identified Earth’s smallest known reptile, warning at the same time that sustained destruction of forests in northern Madagascar threatens its survival. “We found out that the female had eggs in her body, and that the male had large genitals, so it was clear that they were adults.” Exceptionally large genitals, it turned out, accounting for nearly 20 percent of its body size, Glaw and colleagues reported in the journal Scientific Reports. Islands connected long ago to neighbouring continents are known for miniaturised versions of animals that crossed ephemeral land bridges, a phenomenon known as “island dwarfism”. “There are numerous extremely miniaturised vertebrates in Madagascar, including the smallest primates and some of the smallest frogs in the world,” said co-author Andolalao Rakotoarison of the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar. “One big catastrophic event — a forest fire — and the population might be lost very quickly.” Madagascar in a global “biodiversity hotspot”, accounting for five percent of the world’s unique plant and animal species.
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In Madagascar, scientists discover the world’s smallest reptile
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