Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Jaragua Sphaero, Smallest Reptile On The Planet

newscientist.com
This is the Jaragua Sphaero, Sphaerodactylus ariasae, and it is the smallest reptile living on the earth.

At barely 16 millimeters in length, this diminutive gecko is small enough to fit comfortably on the face of a US quarter. 

This little guy makes his home in only two remote locations. The Jaragua National Park in the southwest of the Dominican Republic, and a nearby forested island. That is really all the information on this remarkable creature I can provide, because little is known of it's life in the wild.

allofstrange.blogspot.com

The most amazing thing about this species, in my opinion, is the fact that it was only discovered in 2001. How wonderful it is that there are still secrets hiding in the forests and caves of this planet, even in this new millenium.

This is no special case either. Poecilotheria pederseni, the beautiful arboreal tarantula I share my home with and mentioned in my last post, was also discovered in that same year.

This just demonstrates what I already believe. The world is full of wonders, and all it takes is for someone to go and seek them out. I promise you, if you do you will not be dissappointed.

2 comments:

  1. Hi there Jason, you have a really good blog going mate, just to let you know i have linked you to my blog, Badrick Unadulterated, i thought it would be good to give my readers a break from the browbeating i normally give them by provided them with a link to your blog so they can get back to nature lol.

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  2. thanks Jason for the research on each of your subjects!! I usually see these little 'lizards' and they prance around quite a bit!!

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