Shark Etmopterus perryi, snake Leptotyphlops Carlae, frog Paedophryne… are the smallest creatures on the planet with sizes of only a few millimeters.

1. Shark Etmopterus perryi

The Etmopterus perryi shark with a body length of only about 20cm, in contrast to the giant appearance of its peers, is considered the smallest member of this killer fish family.

The mini shark species only appears in a limited area of the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Colombia, so it is extremely rare. Despite its small size, this tiny shark is still extremely good at finding prey in the dark thanks to its ability to glow to hunt.

2. Leptotyphlops Carlae worm snake

Leptotyphlops Carlae or Barbados thread snake was discovered on the Caribbean island of Barbados in August 2008 by biologist S. Blair Hedges. The worm snake Leptotyphlops Carlae, when curled up, can only fit inside an American 25 cent coin (24.26mm in diameter), is the smallest species in the snake family and also one of the smallest creatures on the planet.

This tiny snake is not venomous. Their main food is some insects such as termites, ants, mosquitoes and larvae. Currently this snake species is at risk of extinction.

3. Paedophryne amauensis clone

Adult Paedophryne amauensis has a body length of only 7.7mm, not even half the size of a coin. This is the smallest vertebrate animal in the world.

This frog species was first found by herpetologist Christopher Austin in 2009 in Papua New Guinea.

4. Bee hummingbird Mellisuga helenae

The bee hummingbird Mellisuga helenae possesses a very small size, when mature it reaches 5 – 6cm in length and weighs 1.6 – 2g.

Like its other “cousins”, bee hummingbirds can fly stationary by beating their wings 80 times per second.

5. Wolfi Octopus

The adult Wolfi octopus weighs only 1 gram and is about 1.5 cm long. This species was discovered in 1913 in the Indo-Pacific waters.

6. Brookesia Micra gecko

Brookesia Micra is only 29mm long, small enough to stand on the head of a match, one of the four smallest lizards in the world. This super rare tiny creature was discovered in Madagascar in 2012.

7. Pygmy Marmoset

Pygmy monkeys are the smallest monkeys in the world, with children of reproductive age only 12cm long and weighing 170 grams. This monkey species lives in small groups of 5-6 monkeys in the Amazon rainforest, South American countries.

8. Kitti pig-nosed bat

The pig-nosed bat Craseonycteris thonglongyai, also known as the bee bat, is the smallest mammal found by humans.

When mature, bee bats are only about 30 – 40mm small (almost a coin) and weigh 2 grams. This species of bat has quite large ears, reddish-brown fur, and an upturned nose that resembles a pig’s nose.

9. Speckled Padloper

Adult Speckled Padloper turtles are only 11cm long, 16 times smaller than Galaparos tortoises.

The shell of this turtle has a mottled color, helping it camouflage very well against all enemies. Because of its small size, this turtle often hides in rocks.

With a small body, each female turtle can only lay one egg per birth. This leads to difficulties in maintaining the species in the face of habitat loss, hunting and predators.

10. Sugar Glider

This tree-dwelling squirrel is native to Papua – New Guinea, Indonesia, and the east coast of Australia. When mature, flying squirrels are 16 – 20cm long. They have a thin membrane extending from the middle of their arms to the end of their hind legs, allowing this squirrel to fly up to 60 – 100 meters in a few seconds.

This squirrel is nocturnal and very easy to tame. Newborn baby flying squirrels will crawl into a small pouch in front of their mother’s chest and drink milk until they become stronger.