Brookesia micra

Juvenile Brookesia micra

While we're on the topic of animals in the news, lets discuss the discovery of the world's smallest chameleon. Scientists recently identified four new members of the Brookesia genus in Madagascar. They were all first spotted between 2003 and 2007. All of them are very small, but B. micra takes the cake.

As adults, these mini Chameleons measure only an inch from snout to tail. And as you can see from that picture, the juveniles are much smaller than that!

Brookesia micra has only been found on the island of Nosy Hara. The small size of the island most likely contributed to the minute size of the animal. Many island species exhibit dwarfism due to limited space and resources.

Because the species is still very new to science, we don't know a whole lot about them. We're not even sure how threatened they are. Habitat loss is typically a big deal for island animals, but the small size of these Chameleon may mean that they are able to live in areas that are inaccessible to humans.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Madagascar
Size : Total Length up to 1.2in (3cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : Squamata
Family : Chamaeleonidae -- Genus : Brookesia -- Species : B. micra