Scientists have found six new species of frogs the size of a thumbnail in Mexico's jungles, one of which has been named Mexico's tiniest frog.
When fully developed, all six species are around the size of a British 1p coin (about 15mm long). Adult males of the smallest of these species, Craugastor candelariensis, grow to barely 13mm in length.
Six new frog species has been found
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The newly found species are known as "direct-developing" frogs because, unlike other frogs, they emerge from the eggs as flawless tiny frogs rather than hatching from eggs into tadpoles.
They're also so little that they're at the very bottom of the forest food chain.
Having millions of such frogs dwelling in the leaf litter, they believe they will play a vital role in the ecology as a source of food for everyone else, from lizards to birds, according to Jameson.
The finding, made by scientists from the University of Cambridge, the Natural History Museum in London, and the University of Texas at Arlington, has been reported in the journal Herpetological Monographs.
According to Tom Jameson, a scientist at the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and University Museum of Zoology who conducted the study, these new species have gone undiscovered since they are tiny and brown and seem quite similar to other frogs, as per ScienceDaily.
He went on to say that their way of life is very intriguing.
These frogs dwell in the dark, damp leaf litter of the forests, which is like a secret realm where we don't truly know what happens.
Researchers don't comprehend their behavior, socialization, or breeding habits yet.
The project entailed collecting almost 500 frog specimens from museums across the world that had been gathered in Mexico and categorizing the relationships between them using new methodologies.
The team used DNA sequencing to divide the frogs into categories based on how equivalent their genes were.
CT scanning was then utilized to construct 3D models of the frogs' skeletons, allowing physical features to be compared.
Six new frog species were discovered as a result of these two quite distinct lines of evidence.
Whereas these frogs are little, they do not support the entire record for the tiniest amphibians.
For so many years, the Brazilian gold frog was regarded to be the world's tiniest frog (Brachycephalus didactylus).
The tiny frog, measuring only 8.6 millimeters in length, was thought to be the smallest terrestrial animal after its discovery in the 1970s.
Paedophryne amanuensis, on the other hand, was discovered in Papua New Guinea in 2012.
Males are barely 7.7 centimeters long on average, and it was identified after researchers listening to frog sounds zeroed in on its distinct cry.
It's still a mystery why animals become so little. In the case of bigger species, the process of insular miniaturization, in which populations separated in tiny settings diminish in size, is associated with lower predation pressure and higher survival rates.
Furthermore, for creatures that are already tiny, such as frogs, reducing might put their bodies to the test. It can result in bone loss, thinner skeletons, and the omission of stages of their lifespan.
Many little frogs, for example, never develop into tadpoles, instead of emerging from the egg fully formed by the process of direct development, as shown in the Craugastor species.
Increasing the lifespan and restricting development may allow miniaturized creatures to emerge faster than their bigger counterparts, giving them an advantage in reproduction.
Furthermore, because these creatures are tiny, they may make use of a variety of food resources and environments, such as the leaf litter inhabited by P. amanuensis.
