The "A Chameleon Smaller Than Small" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Just filled the bird feeder and spread some birdseed on the ground by our house to help those little guys and gals outside who need nourishment during this current cold spell.  All my life I have enjoyed feeding the animals, big and small, who call my property home.  Throughout my lifetime I have had animals and insects of all types and sizes as both pets as well as neighbors.  As a child I had a variety of pets from white mice to snakes to tropical fish to parakeets to horned toads.  As a teenager I raised guinea pigs to sell.  My family also was never without a dog when I was growing up in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  After marriage, Carol and I had both dogs and cats.  Our children had pets of all sizes from the time they were very young until they left home.  Our current selection of pets is our two cats, The Gray Lady and Snickerdoodle.  They keep us amused and busy, especially during this time of  year-round indoor living.  In the summer, my wife's outdoor plants and flowers attract just about every type of insect and bug from butterflies to beetles.  I have posted quite a few photographs of our outdoor visitors including the smallest of insects and reptiles.  For those not knowing the difference, an insect is an arthropod in the class "insecta"which is characterized by six legs, up to four wings, and a chitinous exoskeleton while a reptile is a cold-blooded vertebrate of the class "reptilia."  A reptile creeps, moving on the belly or by means of small and short legs.  I must admit that some are creepier than others while some can scare the crap out of you.  My story today tells of the newest discovered chameleon known as Brookesia nana which was recently discovered in the northern Madagascar rainforest.  It is allegedly the world's smallest reptile being it is only about 22-29mm in total length.  It is a blotchy brown color and the adult male measures 22mm while the adult female is 29mm in total length.  

This cute little reptile is known as Brookesia nana.

One big difference between this chameleon and others is that it doesn't change colors and doesn't prefer to live in trees in the forest.  It prefers the forest floor.  It was just discovered in 2021 by Frank Glaw, a herpetologist in a rainforest on the  Sorata massif in northern Madagascar.  For those wondering what a herpetologist might be, it is a person who specializes in the story of reptiles and amphibians.  Scientists that are now studying this new creature learned a few interesting facts about it.  The male might be the smallest reptile in the world and has disproportionately large genitals.  Actually the male has a pair of penises...and I didn't make that up!  I guess he needs both since the females are larger than the males.  The male ride around on the female's back until she is ready to mate.  As I read more about the reptile I found that they are so small due to "island dwarfism" which is the belief that creatures living on islands evolved to be smaller to make up for the lack of resources on that island.  The next largest reptile is The Brookesia micro which is 1.1 inches long and was discovered in 2012 and can fit on the head of a match.  I just wonder what scientists will discover next.  Perhaps you will need a special pair of glasses to be able to see the next type of reptile that is discovered.  I must begin to look around my backyard with my large magnifying glass and see what I might discover.  I will then name it the Woodsesia papa.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.