Scientists say they have discovered a subspecies of a chameleon the size of a sunflower seed that may be the smallest reptile on Earth.
Two of the miniature lizards, a male and a female, were discovered by a German-Madagascan expedition team in northern Madagascar.
The male Brookesia nana, or nano chameleon, has a body that is only 13.5 mm (0.53 in) long, making it the smallest of all approximately 11,500 known species of reptiles, according to the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich . The total length from nose to tail is just under 22 mm (0.87 in).
The female nano chameleon is significantly larger, with a total length of 29 mm, the research institute said, adding that the scientists were unable to find new specimens of the new subspecies “despite great efforts.”
The species’ closest relative is the slightly larger Brookesia micra, the discovery of which was announced in 2012.
Scientists assume that the lizard’s habitat is small, as is the case for similar subspecies.
“The habitat of the nano chameleon has unfortunately been subject to deforestation, but the area has recently been placed under protection so that the species will survive,” Oliver Hawlitschek, a scientist at the Center of Natural History in Hamburg, said in a statement.