It is the smallest reptile in the world, it sits on the tip of a finger but has a particularity. His genitals are 18% of his body
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himIt is the smallest reptile in the world, it sits on the tip of a finger but has a particularity. His genitals are huge when compared to the rest of his body. This unusual creature is called Brookesia dwarf and is a very small species of chameleon that lives in the rainforests of northern Madagascar.
A research team recently observed it, which then published the results of the study in Scientific Reports. Scientists spotted a male and a female of the species and were amazed by the male's particularly small size. As such, it is the smallest male reptile in the world. It measures just 13,5 millimeters from the snout to the cloaca, the force they use both for expelling faeces and for reproduction.
The small specimen dand Brookesia nana it was even smaller than its female, which measured about 19,2mm. The latter was not only longer than the mate, but also the Caribbean gecko (Sphaerodactylus ariasae), which currently holds the title of the smallest female reptile in the world.
"Since the general body implantation of reptiles is quite similar to that of mammals and humans, it is fascinating to see how these organisms and their organs can be miniaturized," said study lead author Frank Glaw, herpetologist of the study. Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich, to Live Science via email.
However, not all organs are so small. Some orders of reptiles including male lizards and snakes have a pair of reproductive organs called hemipenes, two tubular genitalia that remain inside the male's body until mating.
The hemipenes of dwarf Brookesia measured 2,5 mm in length when fully everted, approximately 18,5% of its total body length. Certainly an amazing but not unusual trait.
A new study describes a new species, Brookesia nana, thought to represent the smallest represent the smallest reptile…
Posted by IUCN SSC Chameleon Specialist Group on Thursday, January 28, 2021
The length of the genitals between the chameleons Similar ranges from 6,3% to 32,9% of the male's total body length, averaging 13,1% across 52 species, the team found.
"[This] revealed an interesting pattern: Smaller species often have proportionately larger genital sizes," study co-author Mark Scherz, a herpetologist at the University of Potsdam in Germany, wrote in a blog post.
According to Scherz, this feature could be linked to the size dimorphism between males and females of these tiny reptile species:
"If the female remains larger than the male, a constraint is placed on the reduction of the male genital size".
Since only two specimens have been discovered so far, it is difficult to draw conclusions about this sexual dynamic. Incidentally, scientists are trying to figure out if they are in danger as their habitat, Madagascar's rainforests, is grappling with various man-made threats including deforestation and intensive agriculture.
Newly discovered and already potentially in danger.
Sources of reference: ScienceAlert, Mark Scherz, Scientific Reports
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