Mini
Mini mum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Subfamily: Cophylinae
Genus: Mini
Scherz et al., 2019
Type species
Mini mum
Scherz et al., 2019
Diversity
3 species

Mini is a genus of small microhylid frogs that are endemic to southeastern Madagascar where they live among leaf litter in lowland forests. The three species and the genus itself were only scientifically described in 2019; although not yet rated by the IUCN, they have very small ranges and it has been recommended that two qualify as critically endangered and M. ature as data deficient.[1][2]

At about 8–11.5 mm (0.31–0.45 in) in snout–vent length, M. mum and M. scule are two of the world's smallest frogs, and the larger M. ature is only c. 15 mm (0.6 in).[1][2][3][4] They were formerly confused with Stumpffia, another genus of tiny frogs from Madagascar. All are well-camouflaged brown frogs.[1]

Species

The genus name is derived from English prefix "mini-", denoting a small version of an object. There are currently 3 species:[1]

Description

Diminutive terrestrial frogs (adult SVL 8.2–14.9 mm) with divided vomers, procoelous vertebral column, divided sphenethmoids, and genetic affinities. Skin smooth to slightly granular, occasionally iridescent. A lateral colour border is present but varies in intensity among species. Highly reduced fingers and toes, fusion or loss of carpal 2, and paedomorphic skull morphology: laterally displaced narrow nasals, teeth absent from vomer, in some species present on the maxilla and premaxilla, otic capsule sometimes dorsally ossified, brain case comprising most of the skull’s length and width.[1]

Distribution

The genus Mini is apparently endemic to low-elevation habitats (0–350 m a. s. l.) of southeastern Madagascar.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Scherz, Mark D.; Hutter, Carl D.; Rakotoarison, Andolalao; Riemann, Jana C.; Rödel, Mark-Oliver; Ndriantsoa, Serge H.; Glos, Julian; Roberts, Sam Hyde; Crottini, Angelica; Vences, Miguel; Glaw, Frank (2019-03-27). "Morphological and ecological convergence at the lower size limit for vertebrates highlighted by five new miniaturised microhylid frog species from three different Madagascan genera". PLOS ONE. 14 (3): e0213314. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1413314S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0213314. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6436692. PMID 30917162. This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  2. 1 2 Donahue, Michelle Z. (2019-03-27). "New staple-size frog is one of the tiniest ever discovered". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  3. ↑ Scherz, Mark D. "Meet the mini frogs of Madagascar -- the new species we've discovered". The Conversation.
  4. ↑ Solly, Meilan (28 March 2019). "Meet Mini mum, Mini scule and Mini ature, Three New Frog Species Among the World's Smallest". Smithsonian.com. Retrieved 2019-04-30.


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