Small is beautiful

In a world of large magnificent beasts, the smaller creatures can sometimes slip us by. There is beauty in the tiny as these following creatures will testify!

Let’s find out more about some of the smallest animals in the world!

Mini Monkeys

Known as the smallest monkey in the world, pygmy marmosets live throughout South America. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and with claws instead of nails, they move swiftly through the treetops. They can also rotate their head 180 degrees!

Nosy Neighbours

In Madagascar you’ll find an island called Nosy Hara. One of the inhabitants is the smallest chameleon in the world; the Brookesia micra. During the day they live in leaf litters before climbing up to the top of their trees to sleep. Their tail is helpful as they use it as an extra leg!

What a mouthful

One of the smallest dwarf frogs, these colourful little creatures are called Monte Iberia Eleuth and live in central America.

They have a bitter smell and can produce a nasty toxin that paralyses their predators. Sadly they are critically endangered, in part due to deforestation taking away their homes. As they are so small, it’s very hard to monitor their populations.

That will get your blood pumping

The smallest mammal in the world is the Etruscan Shrew. Its heart beats 25 times a second! It likes to dine on earthworms and insects and relies on touch more than sight. It has to run pretty fast to avoid nighttime owls!

Girl power

Mouse lemurs are residents of Madagascar and the smallest primate in the world. Lemures means ‘ghost’ in Latin and Malagasy people associated primates with spirits as they are active at night. They live in female-dominated groups and store fat in their tails and hind legs.

You’ve got to ‘bee’ kidding me!

This is the bee hummingbird, so named as it’s barely bigger than a bumblebee! As they are so small they have fewer feathers than any other bird. Not one to rest for long, they fly up to 20 hours without stopping. They can fly up, down, backwards and upside down. When male bee hummingbirds are looking for a girlfriend, they can beat their wings 200 times a second. They are very important for pollination as they can visit 1,500 flowers in a day in their native Cuba.

The tiny trail walker

The speckled padloper tortoise is so small it can fit into the palm of your hand as a fully grown adult. They are the smallest species of tortoise and live in South Africa. Because they are so small they can hide in rocky crevices. Their name means “trail walker”.

Blink and you’ll miss him!

As big as your fingernail, the pygmy seahorse is tiny! Like all seahorses, it is the male pygmy seahorse who becomes pregnant and gives birth. They also don’t like to travel far. They won’t venture further than the area of a side plate.