Bee Hummingbird – the smallest bird in the world
- Approximately 5-6 cm in length (from tip of bill to end of tail)
- This species weighs approximately 1.6-2.6 g
- Males are smaller than females, on average being 5.5 cm in length and 1.6 g in weight
- Females are the larger of the species, on average being 6.2 cm in length and 2.6 g in weight
- Mainly found in Cuba
- Their wings can beat up to 200 times per second
- They will visit an average of 1,500 flowers daily
- These tiny birds must eat half their total body mass (and drink eight times their total body mass) every day to support their high metabolism
- A solitary species, exceptions made only during breeding times
Jaragua Sphaero a.k.a. Dwarf Gecko – the smallest reptile in the world
- This little gecko is only 0.6-0.8 inches in length; averaging a length of 0.63 inches
- It weighs just 0.00455 of an ounce!
- This species lives in the Caribbean; many in the protected Jaragua National Park
- This is a very endangered species – threatened with extinction!
- It is a terrestrial species, spending most of the day on the floor hiding in undergrowth
- They do, however, spend their nights sleeping off the ground (hopefully away from predators!)
- The Virgin Islands dwarf gecko is a very similar size measuring an average size of 0.71 inches in length
- These 2 lizards are the smallest of the 23,000 species in the group Amniotes (all reptiles, birds and mammals)
Paedophryne amauensis (frog) – the smallest amphibian in the world
- Also the smallest of all vertebrates
- Has no common name, only the scientific name
- From Papua New Guinea; lives amongst leaf litter in rainforests
- Average size is 0.27 inches in length
- The males are smaller than the females when fully grown
- Discovered in 2009; officially announced in 2012
- Discovered by Christopher Austin
- They fill a small species specific, ecological niche
- They can jump 30 times longer than their body size