Frogs smaller than bumblebees discovered in Brazil

[BillT]

http://news.sciencemag.org/sifter/2015/06/frogs-smaller-than-bumblebees-discovered-in-brazil?utm_campaign=email-news-weekly&utm_src=email

[Mugwump]

http://news.sciencemag.org/sifter/2015/06/frogs-smaller-than-bumblebees-discovered-in-brazil?utm_campaign=email-news-weekly&utm_src=email

Years ago we found tiny painted frogs down in Mississippi.......amazing that they've found smaller ones???

[BillT]

I have a long term fascination with very small animals, like the Danionella fish and Paedocypris (danio relatives). People actually do research on  them.

Some small animals (like these frogs) have so few cells that as cell numbers go down and structures get smaller, tiny things (compared to the whole body) like toes just do not form.

Fish of this size are considered paedomorphic (thus the name Paedocypris). Paedomorphic animals mature to be able to breed before metamorphozing from the larval stage to the adult stage. Axolotls are an example of this.

If these small animals (including many small frogs) don't have a lot of pigment, you can often get a good view of their internals.