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