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What are the smallest animals in the world? Before we start, let’s define the “smallest”. After all, single-celled organisms that can only be seen through a microscope crawl all over – including our bodies! So, in our list of the smallest animals in the world, we limit it to animals that can be seen with the naked eye.
Smallest Rabbit: Dwarf Rabbit
Dwarf rabbits spend their lives in and around the wormwood. Native to the western United States, the diminutive larvae, ranging in size from 9.25 to 11.6 inches, are the smallest leporids in the world. The dwarf rabbits are considered endangered by the United States government, but the IUCN classifies them as “least dangerous”.
Dwarf rabbits are native to the United States, and the females of this species are slightly larger than the males.
Smallest shark: dwarf lantern shark
At just 8.3 inches long, the dwarf lanterns are the smallest sharks in the world. Connoisseurs of camouflage, pencil-sized swimmers can glow like the rays of the sun and dissolve into night shadows. They feed on krill, and the females give birth to small litters each year. But to see it, you will need a trip either to the coast of Venezuela or the coast of Colombia.
Forty-five species of flashlight sharks can be found in deep waters around the world.
Smallest fish: pedocypris
The smallest fish on the planet is a species called Paedocypris. The specimens are smaller than half an inch and live in the waters around Sumatra. Due to their size, pedocypris are one of the few aquatic animals that can withstand severe drought.
The smallest known specimen was 0.3 “and the largest was just 0.41”.
Smallest snake: slender blind snakes
Discovered over an area of several square kilometers in Barbados and considered by scientists to be the smallest snake in the world, the thin blinds grow to only 4.1 inches in length. Slithering Caribbean inhabitants, due to their thinness, also walk on filamentous or filamentous snakes.
The scientific name for the little creeper family is Leptotyphlopidae. The species survive on most continents and tend to congregate near nests of ants and termites.
The smallest monkey: pygmy monkeys
Dwarf monkeys live in the forests of South America and are considered the smallest monkey in the world. Humans are the size of a human finger, 4.6 to 6.2 inches in height, and their large eyes and charming noses can melt even the coldest of hearts.
Click here to learn more about the pygmy monkeys that can jump 16 feet.
Smallest bird: bee hummingbird
What is the smallest bird in the world? The awards go to the bee hummingbird, also known as zunzuncito and Helena. The tiny flyers flap their wings 200 times a minute, and the largest is about 2.2 inches in size and weighs about the same as a dime. Bee hummingbirds are endemic to Cuba and have not left this area for thousands of years.
Click here to learn more about hummingbirds, which are the only birds that can fly backwards.
Smallest mammal by mass: Etruscan shrew
Their bodies are only about 1.5 inches long, and their tails add 0.94 to 1.26 inches. The Etruscan shrew, the smallest known mammal by mass, weighs 0.063 ounces and can only be found in the coastal Mediterranean regions and regions of Southeast Asia. To keep up with their exorbitant metabolism, small animals eat about 25 times a day.
Incredibly, Etruscan shrews have a resting heart rate of 1511 beats per minute. By comparison, the average human heart produces 60 to 100 beats per minute.
Smallest Mammal: Kitty Pig-nosed Bat
The limestone caves in Burma and Thailand are home to the world’s smallest mammals: the Kitty bats. Average height from 1.1 to 1.3 inches. These endangered flying mammals are so compact that their head and body are one piece.
Click here to learn more about bats that give birth upside down.
The smallest reptile: the dwarf Sfaero from the Virgin Islands
Scientists believe that the smallest reptile currently scurrying around the planet is the Sfero dwarf from the Virgin Islands. The lizard, also known as the smallest Virgin Gorda gecko and the Virgin Islands dwarf gecko, has only been observed on Virgin Gorda, Tortola and Mosquito Islands. Virgin Gorda is 0.7 inches long from nose to shoulder.
Click here to find out more about the lizards, of which there are over 5000 species!
Smallest frog: Monte Iberia Eleut
The smallest frog in the Northern Hemisphere is Monte Iberia eleuth. At just 0.4 inches, that’s about half your thumb! There are three more species of miniature frogs, and scientists go back and forth about which one is the smallest.
Click here to find out more about Monte Iberia eleuth, which can only be found in Cuba.
And this is our list of the smallest animals in the world that can be seen with the naked eye. Next up: the friendliest animals on the planet!
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