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World's Smallest Frog Discovered
from BBC News Online
A frog species that appears to be the world's smallest has been discovered in Papua New Guinea by a U.S.-based team. At 7mm (0.27 inches) long, Paedophryne amauensis may be the world's smallest vertebrate--the group that includes mammals, fish, birds and amphibians. The researchers also found a slightly larger relative, Paedophryne swiftorum.
Presenting the new species in PLoS One journal, they suggest the frogs' tiny scale is linked to their habitat, in leaf litter on the forest floor. Finding the frogs was not an easy assignment.
They are well camouflaged among leaves on the forest floor, and have evolved calls resembling those of insects, making them hard to spot.
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