Recently Discovered ‘Toadlet’ Is One of Smallest Vertebrates on Earth

Blue whales are the biggest animals on Earth, but have you wondered which is the smallest? Scientists have recently described one of the world’s tiniest vertebrates: an adorable miniature toad species found in Brazil. They reported their findings in the journal PeerJ.

The little guys belong to a subgroup known as flea toadlets or flea toads in the genus Brachycephalus, because they’re able to jump 30 times their body length. The most recently described member of the species—now named Brachycephalus dacnis—measures 6.95 millimeters long, earning the title of the second-smallest vertebrate in the world and the seventh flea toadlet species to be found. A specimen belonging to a related Brachycephalus species was recorded as 0.45 millimeters smaller than the B. dacnis specimen and currently holds the record for world’s smallest vertebrate.

Researchers encountered the new flea toad while working with the Dancis project [PDF], a Brazilian non-profit organization that aims to protect the Atlantic rainforest in Brazil. They heard the distinct mating calls of the frog while taking samples in the region and obtained it after following its chirps. The animal’s appearance, vocalizations, and genetic profile were different enough from a closely related species, Brachycephalus hermogenesi, to confirm B. dacnis as a new species.

Strangely enough, B. dacnis’ skeleton bears similarities to those of normal-sized frogs. That’s not the case with most other miniature frogs; Many skeletal traits of larger frogs are typically fused or missing altogether in the teeny-tiny toads. Some species of poisonous pumpkin toadlets in the mountains of Brazil, for instance, lack small bones in their heads necessary to hear their own vocalizations. 

Scientists believe there are likely more flea toads out there. They’re hard to spot due to their small size and tendency to hide in leaf litter covering the forest floor. The species’ yellowish-brown skin even blends in with the ground, making it difficult for predators to notice them.   

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