Sunday, March 18, 2012

  Smallest Reptile: Brookesia micro sets world record (Photos)

MADAGASCAR--A new species of chameleon, Brookesia micra, has been found in Madagascar and reportedly measures less than 1.3 inches (33 millimeters) - setting the new world record for the Smallest Reptile , according to World Record Academy: www.worldrecordacademy.com/.

  Photo: The newest edition to the reptile family is barely bigger than the head of a match. Photo: PLoS ONE
  ( enlarge photo )

The Guinness world record for the largest crocodilian in the world is the estuarine or saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), which ranges throughout the tropical regions of Asia and the Pacific. The Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary in Orissa State, India, houses four protected estuarine crocodiles measuring more than 6 m (19 ft 8 in) in length, the largest being over 7 m (23 ft) long.

Guinness World Records also recognized the world record for the oldest reptile fossil, nicknamed `Lizzie the Lizard', a stem-amniote or reptiliomorph, who was found on a site in Scotland by palaeontologist Stan Wood in March 1988. The 20.3-cm (8-in) long reptile is estimated to be about 340 million years old, 40 million years older than previously discovered reptiles.

  Lead researcher Frank Glaw said the team already had experience finding tiny lizards in Madagascar, "but it was also good luck."

  The chameleons were found on a small islet just off of the Madagascar mainland called Nosy Hara.

  According to Frank Glaw, lead author of the new paper and a researcher at the Zoological State Collection of Munich, the dwarf gecko's snout-vent length is at most 18 mm, with a total length of 33 mm (1.3 inches).

Photo: Even full grown this chameleon isn't bigger than a scientists' fingernail. Photo Credit: PLoS ONE ( enlarge photo )

  The field work for this research has been supported by the Volkswagen Foundation and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. Lab work received funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant VE247/3-1).

  Researchers now wish to focus on the conservation of these little critters, who are at risk because of deforestation in Madagascar.

Related world records:  
Smallest frog: Paedophryne amanuensis sets world record (Video)

Heaviest insect: Giant Weta sets world record (Video)

Oldest living two-faced cat: Frank and Louie sets world record (HD Video)

Largest snake living in captivity: 25-feet long Medusa (Video)

Largest crocodile captured: Lolong The Crocodile (Video)

Smallest Chicken Egg: John Spencer Russell Egg

Largest sand dollar: world record found by Augie Balicki

Largest crocodile in captivity: Cassius (HD Video)

Oldest living animal: 178-year-old tortoise

Smallest Dinosaur: 'Ashdown Maniraptoran' Fossil

Largest Fossil Spider: 165-million-year-old fossil

Most ears on a cat: Luntya The Cat (Video)

Loudest Cat: Smokey The Cat (Video)

Largest natural abalone pearl: Abalone "horn" pearl

Longest Cat: Stewie

Longest recorded migration of any mammal: Humpback Whale

Smalles Cow: Swallow

Smartest monkey: Kanzi the 'talking' Ape

Smallest Horse: Einstein the Horse

Smartest Horse: Lukas the Horse

Most ducklings hatched: mallard duck

Biggest Rabbit: Darius the Rabbit

Oldest Pig: Oscar the Pig

Biggest Rabbit: Ralph the rabbit

Longest Animal Migration - The Arctic Tern

Largest genetically engineered trout: Sean Konrad

Biggest bullock: The Field Marshall

Most expensive cow: Missy

Most expensive sheep: Deveronvale Perfection

Longest snake in captivity: Fluffy

Tallest cat: Scarlett's Magic

Biggest Largemouth Bass: Manabu Kurita

Sunday, March 18, 2012 2:41 PM