In the lavish landscape of Bahia, Brazil, biologists made a discovery that challenges the limits of the animal kingdom. The Brazilian flea toad, an animal so small it can perch conveniently on a coin, has actually been crowned the worlds smallest vertebrate. It is likewise the worlds tiniest recognized amphibian.
Brachycephalus pulex with a real Brazilian coin for recommendation. Credit: Zoologica Scripta, 2024.
The smallest of the small
Everything started over a decade ago when Brachycephalus pulex, frequently called the Brazilian flea toad, was initially determined in 2011. Regardless of its name, this is a frog, not a toad. Toads typically have drier, bumpier skin and choose drier environments, while frogs have smoother, moister skin and are more typically discovered near water.
Paedophryne amauensis, the previous record holder for smallest vertebrate. Credit: Rittmeyer et al., PLOS ONE ( 2012 ).
Since the flea toad was very first discovered, more specimens were collected throughout the years. Researchers meticulously measured both female and male specimens of the frog endemic to Brazils Atlantic coast. Males, on average, determine a simple 7.10 millimeters in length, surpassing the previous record holder, the Paedophryne amauensis frog, by a portion of a millimeter.
Both frogs reside in the hot tropics, and this is no coincidence.
Remarkably, the tiniest Brazilian flea toad specimen determines just 6.45 millimeters long, really pushing the limitations of whats considered physically possible for vertebrate animals. For comparison, the blue whale, the biggest vertebrate on the planet, measures about 25.8 meters– a minimum of 3,600 times larger than the flea toad.
Adaptation with some challenges
There are still many nooks and crannies to explore, particularly in thick rain forests. Anything smaller than about 6 millimeters long “would truly challenge morphology and physics,” stated lead author and herpetologist Mirco Solé of the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz in Brazil. “But who knows.”
Some frogs in the Brachycephalus genus struggle with movement and hearing due to their unusual inner ear structures. Brazilian flea toads have not been officially evaluated for balance, although the researchers anecdotally report theyre decent hoppers.
The study highlights how extreme miniaturization can lead to special physical adaptations. The Brazilian flea toad lost its digits and established extra bony structures on their vertebrae and skulls. A V-shaped pattern on its chest with dark brown stripes makes this frog quickly identifiable if you can spot it, naturally.
According to Simon Loader, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum London, living in the tropics is to be expected. This distribution is connected to the obstacles smaller sized animals face in controling their body temperature level in colder environments. Smaller animals tend to lose heat faster and thus battle to maintain their body temperature level more than animals with larger volumes. Brookesia nana, a nano-chameleon, (20 millimeters) and the bumblebee bat (wingspan of 145 millimeters), in addition to other tiny vertebrates, all live in warm environments.
The findings appeared in the journal Zoologica Scripta.
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The Brazilian flea toad lost its digits and established extra bony structures on their skulls and vertebrae. Brazilian flea toads havent been formally evaluated for balance, although the researchers anecdotally report theyre decent hoppers.
The Brazilian flea toad, an animal so small it can perch easily on a coin, has actually been crowned the worlds smallest vertebrate. It all began over a decade ago when Brachycephalus pulex, commonly known as the Brazilian flea toad, was first recognized in 2011. Toads typically have drier, bumpier skin and choose drier environments, while frogs have smoother, moister skin and are more commonly discovered near water.
