Top 10 Smallest Animals in The World That You’ve Never Heard About

Which are the smallest animals in the world?

Humans have a deep relation with animals. Animals are the creatures, who are beneficial for humans in many ways. There are hundreds of animals species found on earth. From giant dinosaurs to tiny fish (Paedocypris progenetica) they all comes in numerous shapes and sizes. Some are very adorable and cute while others can make you frighten. Here we have enlisted the top ten smallest animals on earth.Lets check them out.

1- Smallest Fox

Smallest Animals in The World
Image Credit: Connie N
  • Name: Fennec Fox
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Family: Canidae
  • Height: 15cm
  • Weight: 2.2 pounds
  • Color: Cream color with black tipped tail and fluffy
  • Occurrence: Desert zones of North Africa and Sinai
  • Food: They are omnivores.  Plants, rodents, eggs etc

Fennec fox is the smallest fox in the world. Often called as desert foxes, as they live in the desert zones of North Africa and the Sinai. This fox is nocturnal and avoid daytime heat of the desert environment. They dissipate heat as they have many blood vessels close to skin. Fennec fox have 32 chromosomes pairs while normal fox have 35 or 39.

2-Smallest Chameleon

Smallest Animals in The World

  • Name: Brookesia minima
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Reptilian
  • Family: Chamaelonidae
  • Size: 1.2 cm (0.5 inches)
  • Occurrence: Rainforest floor of the Nosy Be Island off the North West coast of Madagascar.

Among the smallest animals in the world, Brookesia minima is the smallest in her class. With size of just 1.2 cm, this is the world’s smaleest chameleon found on earth.

Chameleon is the best example of the animal with the ability of camouflage. They exhibit cryptic coloration (a type of camouflage) in order to deceive enemies. The adult have flattened head with large scales forming triangular plates above eyes. While female minima is larger in size than male.

3-World Smallest Lizard

  • Name: Sphaerodactylus Ariasae
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Reptilia
  • Family: Gekkonidae
  • Size: 16 mm (0.6 inches)
  • Discovered: 1965 in British Virgin Island

Lizards come from the reptile family and are often thought as long reptiles even reaching the length of up to 3 meters, like the Komodo dragon specie. However, this is not the case with the Jaragua Sphaero. It is the world’s smallest lizard measuring a meager 16 millimeters. It was found on a remote Caribbean Island off the coast of Dominican Republic.

The world’s smallest lizard is so small that it can curl up on a dime or stretch up to a quarter. It fit on a US 25-cent coin

Due to such a small size (16 mm) from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail this lizard has cosnidered as the world’d smallest lizard.

4-World Smallest Hamster

Smallest Animals in The World

  • Name: PeeWee
  • Size: 2.5 cm or 0.9 inches tall
  • Weight: less than an ounce
  • Diet: they are omnivores. Find insect for food and some eat their own feces.
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Family: Criectidae
  • Phylum: Chordata

The world smallest hamster is slightly bigger than a 50p piece; having a weight less than an ounce. The information about this smallest creatures reveled us that it stop growing after the age of 21 days or 3 weeks.

5-World Smallest Cat

Smallest Animals in The World

  • Name: Mr. Peebles
  • Height: 15.5 cm (6.1 inches long)
  • Length: 49 cm 1(9.2 inches)
  • Weight:  3 pounds (when 2 year old)
  • Occurrence: United Kingdom (central Illinois)
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Mammals

Among the smallest cat breed Mr. Peebles is the most tiny one. Guinness Book of World Records verified it in 2004 as the world’s smallest cat. Because of its tiny size she is very sensitive to cold.The other family members of Mr. Peebles are normal in size. This cat is also the smallest mammal in the world.

6-World Smallest Horse

Smallest Animals in The World
Image credit: Phil Konstantin
  • Name: Thumbelina
  • Size: 43 cm (17 inches)
  • Weight: 26 kg (57 lb)
  • Daily diet: 2 cup of grains and 2 handfuls of hay
  • Phylum: chordata
  • Class: Mammalia

The world’s smallest horse is dwarf miniature Thumbelina was born on 1st May 2007 in St. Louis Missouri. According to his owner he stopped growing after 3 years of his age. This adorable smallest horse eye’s size is like other normal horse have while his legs are bowed twisted. Thumbelina can fit in your lap.

7-World Smallest Snake

Smallest Animals in The World
Image credit: Blair Hedges
  • Name: leptotyphlops Carlae
  • Size: 10.1 cm (3.9 inches)
  • Discover by: Blair Hedges
  • Diets: on larva of ants and termites
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Reptilia
  • Family: leptotyphlopidae

The world smallest snake is found on the Caribbean Island of Barbados. They are commonly called thread snake because  of their long and narrow bodies.This is the smallest species of snake in the world. leptotyphlops Carlae is so small and extremely thin and it just look like a spaghetti noodle. It is so tiny that it can be fit on a US quarter. This snake has unique color pattern in from of continuous stripes from eyes to tail tip.

See Also: 31 Cutest Small Dog Breeds That Are Best For Apartment

8-World Smallest Seahorse

Smallest Animals in The World
Image credit: Jenny Huang
  • Name: Hippocampus Denise
  • Size: 16 mm (0.6 inches)
  • Occurrence: live in tropical water of western Pacific Ocean between the 13 and 90 meters beneath the surface
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Actinopterygii
  • Family: Syngnathidae

The world smallest seahorse is smaller than an average finger nail. This smallest horse is also known as yellow pygmy seahorse. Hippocampus Denise is basically a small fish and have maximum length of about 2.4 cm which differentiate them and make smallest representatives of seahorses. This seahorse has a short snout, slender body and a claw type tail. They have ability to change their color according to the environment.

9-World Smallest Fish

  • Name: Paedocypris Progenetica
  • Size: 10.3 mm (0.41 in)
  • Occurrence: Peat swamps and Blackwater streams.
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Actinopterygii
  • Family: Syngnathidae

The world’s minutest fish is Paedocypris progenetica, and was discovered in the most recent decade. Researchers found it living in the woodland swamps on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is from the carp family pellucid body and a head without a skeleton. Full grown females measure only 7.9 millimeters-astonishingly just 1/3 of an inch.

See Also: 61 Cute Baby Animals Pictures That Will Make You Say ‘Aww’

10-World Smallest Monkey

Smallest Animals in The World
Image Credit: Don Faulkner
  • Name: Pygmy marmoset
  • Size: 12 -15 cm (4.7 in – 5.9 in)
  • Occurrence: Native rain forests of South America.
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Family: Callitrichidae

Native to the tropical rain forests of South America, the Pygmy Marmoset weighs a mere 4 ounces. The dwarf marmoset is a little new world monkey local to rain forests of the western Amazon Basin in South America. It is remarkable for being the littlest monkey and one of the littlest primates on the planet at a little more than 100 grams (3.5 oz.). This Pygmy marmoset family mostly found in evergreen rain forests.