Animals are extremely fascinating.
They are really adorable and can often brighten up any day with their antics!
And while some of the animals are generally too large for us to be able to pet them, there
are some who just so tiny that you will not be able to help going aww at them!
Lets take a look at some of the insanely cute tiny animals.
16.
Pygmy Marmoset.
Monkeys are generally highly intelligent creatures who love to make mischief.
And they can be quite scary as well because when they decide to attack, they do pack a
mean set of teeth and claws.
But there is nothing that will scare you about the Pygmy Marmoset.
They kind of look like someone took a shrinking ray to a monkey with fully grown adults reaching
up to 5 inches in height!
Their natural habitat are the Western Amazon rainforests.
And if you ever get to hear them, you will be surprised because they are too small for
noises that loud!
In fact, their squeals and whistles often travel for long distances in the jungle!
15.
Philippine Tarsier.
One look at these creatures and you will think that they are monkeys, or to be more specific,
the smallest monkeys in the world.
But they are not actually related to monkeys at all!
These furry little animals have really round, big bug like eyes.
And because they are extremely rare and kind of unique, scientist don’t really know how
to classify them.
So, they are generally labelled as primates and are usually 3-6 inches tall.
They spend their days sleeping in tree trunk hollows and come out at night to feast on
insects.
And if you think their eyes are adorable, well they are, but fun fact?
Their eyes are bigger than their stomachs.
14.
Bee Hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds are known for eating insects.
But what some of the members of the hummingbird family might not like is that they are often
mistaken for insects themselves!
The bee Hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world reaching a height of only 2 inches.
The male birds are actually smaller than the female ones and they are a native of Cuba.
Their wings beat at an astounding rate of 80 beats per second, and the human retina
cannot even process that!
To give you an idea about the smallness of these birds, just imagine that their nests
are smaller than a doll’s teacup and their eggs are smaller than a coffee bean!
13.
Hippocampus Seahorse.
These sea horses are so tiny that they are generally no bigger than a fingernail!
From the snout to the tip of their tail, they are generally about 16 mm and scientists initially
believed that they were actually the babies of other sea horses.
The hippocampus denise sea horse are found mostly off the coast of Indonesia and are
often overlooked because they live among the corals and that gives them a pretty good camouflage!
Kind of a good thing as they are so small that they can never really defend themselves
against fish!
12.
Mouse Lemur.
The Mouse lemur actually looks a lot like the Philippine Tarsier mentioned earlier,
but they are different.
In fact, they are the smallest primate in the world and grow from about 2.25 inches
to 4.75 inches.
They are found mostly in Madagascar, and are actually not that easy to find.
They live in the trees and hardly ever leave that habitat except at night.
Which is why it took biologists so long to identify the 8 species of the Mouse Lemur
so far.
But sadly, because of the loss of habitat, these tiny creatures are on the list of endangered
species.
Lets hope that we do something about that before the world is not able to see these
tiny creatures anymore!
11.
Pink Fairy Armadillo.
When you hear the words pink fairy, probably the last thing you would think of is a burrowing
mammal with a rough pink armour and really long nails!
But that is what the pink armadillo is!
It is a fairly rare and strange creature, so if you ever happen to spot one, you should
be really happy!
The Pink fairy armadillo is the smallest armadillo in the world and has only one dorsal shell
which is more or less separate from its body.
They are found in the dry grasslands and sandy plains of Argentina and measure 3.3 to 4.6
inches!
10.
Pygmy Rabbit.
The word pygmy before the name of any animal is usually a good indicator that it will be
tiny.
And the pygmy rabbit is no different!
It has a typical body length of 9.4 inches to 11.4 inches and they are the smallest rabbit
in the world.
Usually found in North America, the pygmy rabbits usually live in areas with deep soil
and they burrow into tall dense sagebrush for cover and food.
But if you ever happen to see one, the pygmy rabbits are exceptionally cute and you wouldn’t
believe that any animal so cute would ever be threatened by predators!
9.
Etruscan Shrew.
If the size of the brain compared to the rest of the body were an indicator of smartness,
the Etruscan shrew, also known as the white toothed pygmy shrew, would be smarter than
even humans!
These tiny animals are usually 1.4 to 2 inches long and have one of the highest brain to
body weight ratio!
8.
Chihuahua.
Dogs are insanely cute animals and make for great pets.
And while they come in many sizes and shapes, the smallest of the dogs are the Chihuahuas.
These cute little dogs are known to be arm candies to many, including celebrities and
the rich!
Chihuahuas grow 6 to 9 inches tall and weigh anywhere between 1 to 4 kilos.
As such, they can easily snuggle in purses and they actually come in 30 different colors
and varieties!
And if you want a Chihuahua in your purse, we are pretty sure there will be enough space
for them considering that it will be emptier because they do not come cheap!
7.
African Pygmy Hedgehogs.
Yep, we know that there are too many with pygmy affixed before their name but then,
there is a reason why that is the case!
The African Pygmy Hedgehogs are found in Africa, as the name suggest, and they are also the
smallest hedgehogs in the world.
Again, as the name suggests!
These creatures measure up to 6 to 10 inches in length and are a popular breed of hedgehogs
when it comes to domesticating them!
6.
Brookesia Chameleon.
Chameleons are not something that many of us would want as pets.
But you might be tempted to think twice when you look at the Brookesia chameleon.
They are considered to be the smallest chameleon in the world, and some even argue that they
are the smallest reptiles, being about 4 cm long!
What is interesting is that apart from its size, there really is nothing else that separates
them from the normal chameleons.
The brookesia chameleons are found mostly in Madagascar and are active during the day.
At night, however, like most chameleons, they like to find the safety of trees and rest.
But of course, given their smallness, they even consider 15 cm above the soil to be a
great height!
5.
Little Blue Penguin.
While a certain super villain may have ruined penguins for many, they are still very adorable
creatures.
And if you are scared of them, you should probably go to meet the little blue penguins
to cure your scare.
These little cuties are just not capable of scaring anyone as they are the smallest penguins
in the world.
Found mostly in New Zealand and Australia, these penguins grow up to 13 inches in height
and 18 inches in length.
What makes them so special is that apart from the fact that they are tiny, they also have
slate blue plumage!
4.
Roborovski Hamster.
Often known as the smallest hamster in the world, the roborovski hamster, also known
as Robo, grow up to a couple of inches even when fully matures.
These tiny cuties have eyebrow like white spots and are known for their speed.
It is estimated that they run an equivalent of 4 human marathons every night!
These hamsters are usually found in desert regions and can rarely be found in the dense
vegetation.
The robos are exceptionally cute things to have around the house although in spite of
their smaller size, they do eat a lot!
3.
Clemmys Guttata.
When you think about turtles, most of us like to talk about the giant ones.
But what many of us do not know about are the clammy guttata.
They are extremely small spotted turtles that grow up to 3.1 – 4.7 inches.
And that is perhaps why they are often confused with babies of grown turtles!
They have a broad, smooth shell which usually have yellow colored spots on them.
These turtles are found in shallow freshwater areas in Canada and USA and are actually an
endangered species.
What is interesting about these turtles apart from their size is that each segment of their
upper shell has just one yellow spot and these spots also exist on their bodies along with
their shells.
2.
Fennec Fox.
Foxes are generally not really that big, so when you think of a fox you don’t really
think big.
But then, the fennec fox takes being small to another level altogether!
They are nocturnal animals found mostly in the Sahara, the Sinai peninsula and the Arabian
desert.
They generally grow to about 9 to 16 inches in length and are the smallest species of
canid in the world!
Since these foxes are usually found in hot climates, one can see Darwin’s theory in
work as they have exceptionally long ears which serve to dissipate the heat!
All in all, the fennec fox are really unusual creatures!
Golden Frog.
Frogs are slimy creatures which one would not want to hold in one’s hands ever!
But if you could actually hold it on your fingernails, would you?
The Panamanian golden frog is so small that it measures only about 9.8 mm in body length
and they are the smallest frog in the Southern Hemisphere.
They were initially thought to be a subspecies, but now have been classified as an entirely
different species.
These frogs are easy to spot because of their vivid yellow colour which is generally accompanied
with spherical marks making them look like polka dots!
We hope that you enjoyed this list of the smallest animals in the world and we wouldn’t
be surprised if you haven’t seen any of them because, well, they are extremely small!
But if you have ever seen any of these animals do let us know what your experience was and
remember to subscribe to our channel to get instant updates on our videos!