The flea toad may be the world’s smallest vertebrate

A trio of biologists from the University of Santa Cruz in Brazil have discovered that Brachycephalus purex (also known as the Brazilian flea toad), a small frog found only in southern Brazil, is not only the world’s smallest amphibian; proved something. It is also the world’s smallest vertebrate.their papers will be published in journals Zoologica Scripter.

Researchers first discovered this tiny frog in 2011. The discovery team found evidence that the frog lives only in a few hills in the southern state of Bahia, Brazil. At the time, researchers believed that the frog was a toad, hence the name.

For this new study, the researchers traveled to the site where the original specimen was found and captured several more specimens, measured them and checked for signs of maturity before releasing them. They wanted to confirm that the specimens they measured were adults. To do this, it was necessary to examine both the gonads and vocal cords. Once we were sure that the specimen was the expected size, we measured its body length.

After measuring 46 specimens, they found that the average male body length was just over 7 millimeters. They’re smaller than a pea, which means two of them could comfortably fit on your little fingernail. Women were on average 1 millimeter longer. The researchers noted that the smallest frog they discovered was only 6.45 millimeters long, making it about 30% smaller than the smallest frog ever observed.

This discovery represents the smallest vertebrate observed, although not the smallest possible. They suggest that there may be small creatures that have yet to be discovered and studied. They also note that there are likely limitations, with most small frogs having strange quirks, such as having fewer toes than other frogs or having poorly formed ears. , points out that there are signs that smaller frogs have a harder time surviving.