These Newly-Discovered Madagascar Chameleons are Unfathomably Tiny

Following in the (minute) footsteps of the world’s smallest frog, the newest species to be welcomed to the ranks of the world’s most ridiculously small animals are a quartet of chameleons from Madagascar. The little guys, which are some of the smallest reptiles on Earth, were recently discovered in Madagascar by a team led by Frank Glaw of the Zoological State Collection of Munich in Germany. All told, they’re just tens of millimeters long. So as much as I’d like to put one in my pocket to take around and chill with me, I’d likely lose it.

The four new species found are all part of the genus Brookesia, a group of chameleons that are all quite small. Because of their size and similarity in appearance, Glaw’s team ran a genetic analysis of the four new species to ensure that they are indeed distinct. The smallest of the quartet, named Brookesia micra, has a total body length of less than 3 centimeters in both sexes. It’s range is also pocket-sized; it was only found on a small islet called Nosy Hara. Because of that, the researchers posit that its size may be an extreme case of island dwarfism, a topic recently discussed in another lizard study.

Finding such small creatures is awesome not only because of their size, but also because of question of how they ended up so tiny in the first place. As Glaw and crew write in the paper describing their find, published today in PLoS ONE, “Extremes in nature such as gigantism and dwarfism in organisms attract considerable attention from the general public, but also allow biologists to gain general insights into morphological and ecological constraints.” Despite their size, the chameleons still have to function in a fundamentally similar way to any other reptile. What’s incredible is that their itty-bitty hearts, stomachs, and everything still work.

“The extreme miniaturization of these dwarf reptiles might be accompanied by numerous specializations of the bodyplan, and this constitutes a promising field for future research.” Glaw said. “But most urgent is to focus conservation efforts on these and other microendemic species in Madagascar which are heavily threatened by deforestation.”

Considering how long it takes for something mouse-sized to evolve to whale dimensions, figuring out how animals with such extreme body plans work is a fascinating avenue of study. Plus, with Madagascar’s wealth of biodiversity continually under threat, it’s vitally important that such diminutive animals are found before they disappear.