Scientists have been surprised by a new species of chameleon, as it is an animal the size of a fingertip.
Almost a decade ago, a team of researchers first described the tiny chameleon Brookesia micra , which at the time was believed to be the smallest in the world, but it turns out they have discovered an even smaller new species, Brookesia nana .
“‘Nana’ is derived from the same Latin / Greek root that gave us the prefix ‘nano-‘,” explained Scherz, “which we apply to things like ‘nanotechnology’ to indicate a very small size.” A fitting name for the smallest chameleon in the world.
However, despite their tiny size, their genitalia are “surprisingly large.” To keep them safe they usually hide their genitals and occasionally a male may choose to “air his parts” and of course, to mate. Surprisingly, the hemipenes of B. nana represent approximately 18.5% of its body size . (Other animals have much larger ratios between genitalia and body size, including ducks, whose genital length can equal their body length, or barnacles, whose genitalia can be eight times longer than their body.)
The tiny chameleon was found in Madagascar, a true haven for biodiversity and a common source of new species.
Referencia: Glaw, F., Köhler, J., Hawlitschek, O. et al. Extreme miniaturization of a new amniote vertebrate and insights into the evolution of genital size in chameleons. Sci Rep 11, 2522 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80955-1
