Ridiculously Tiny Animals

10) Munchkin Cat

Despite their short legs, they can move quickly, particularly while running around corners. They can also stand on their hind legs to get a better look at things, like meerkats. They can even solve puzzles, be taught tricks and have earned the nickname “Magpies”, as they have a habit of stealing and storing shiny things. They were first recognized as a breed in 2003, although not by everyone.

9) Pygmy Marmoset

That’s excluding the tail, which is actually longer than the monkey’s body, measuring 20cm. This tail, unlike other monkeys, is used for balance and cannot function as a 5th limb. They mate for life, and travel in groups (known as troops) of up to 9, which will usually consist of whole families. They usually have 2 babies, but can have 4 in captivity, and the father helps to deliver them.

They can live in groups of anywhere from 10 to 500 bats, they feed several times a day, mostly on insects. They do not use echolocation like many other bats. Their numbers in Burma are unknown, and in Thailand there is only one province they are known to be found in, meaning they are possibly at risk of extinction.

7) Speckled Padloper Tortoise

This, along with poaching, predators, loss of habitat etc. has led to their status being classified as “near threatened”. They are 16 times smaller than the largest breed of tortoise, the Galapagos tortoise. While that may not sound like much, imagine if you were 16 times your height.

6) Octopus Wolfi

 A full octopus wolfi will weigh less than a gram, and measure 1.5 centimeters in length, meaning it can cling on to just one of your fingers comfortably. They are found in the Indo-Pacific ocean.

5) Leptotyphlops Carlae

Much like the Speckled Padloper Tortoise, Leptotyphlops Carlae only lay one egg, which could potentially put them at risk of extinction. They can only lay one egg at a time, because if they laid more, the hatchlings would have to be smaller and would have almost no chance of survival.

4) Brookesia Micra

 At night, they climb up into the branches of trees to sleep — the best time to look for them. Scientists have found 4 species of previously undiscovered mini-lizards, but at 29mm (small enough to fit on the head of a matchstick), the Brookesia Micra is the smallest of all.

3)  Hippocampus Denise

Found between 13 and 90 meters below the surface of the Western Pacific Ocean, the Hippocampus Denise was initially mistaken for a baby seahorse. But in fact a fully grown adult only grows to be about 16mm. Apart from being so small, it is hard to spot because it blends in with the coral. Because they are so difficult to find scientists have no idea how many there are, and if they are threatened by changing environments or as a consequence of fishing.

2) Paedophryne Amauensis

 The frogs are so small, that a fully grown adult could fit completely on one of your fingernails. Not only is this the smallest frog in the world, it is also the smallest vertebrate known to man.

1) Einstein