Videographer: Ahmad Farhat
The following are some of the smallest animals in the world:
1- Bumblebee bat
Kitti’s hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai), also known as the bumblebee bat, is a vulnerable species of bat and the only extant member of the family Craseonycteridae. It occurs in western Thailand and southeast Burma, where it occupies limestone caves along rivers.
Kitti’s hog-nosed bat is about 29 to 33 mm (1.1 to 1.3 in) in length and 2 g (0.071 oz) in mass. hence the common name of “bumblebee bat”. It is the smallest species of bat and may be the world’s smallest mammal, depending on how size is defined. The main competitors for the title are small shrews; in particular, the Etruscan shrew may be lighter at 1.2 to 2.7 g (0.042 to 0.095 oz) but is longer, measuring 36 to 53 mm (1.4 to 2.1 in) from its head to the base of the tail.
2- The Leptotyphlops carlae
It is a species of blind threadsnake. It is the smallest known snake species.This member of the Leptotyphlopidae family is found only on the Caribbean island of Barbados.
The snake was first identified as a separate species in 2008 by S. Blair Hedges, a herpetologist from Pennsylvania State University. Hedges named the new species of snake in honor of his wife, Carla Ann Hass, a herpetologist who was part of the discovery team. Specimens already existed in reference collections in the London Natural History Museum and in a museum in California, but they had been incorrectly identified to belong to another species.
The average length of Leptotyphlops carlae adults is approximately 10 cm, (3.9 inches), with the largest specimen found to date measuring 10.4 cm (4.09 inches). The snakes are said by Hedges to be “about as wide as a spaghetti noodle. The photograph above shows L. carlae on a quarter dollar, a coin with a diameter of 24.26 mm (0.955 inches).
3- Bee Humming Bird
With a mass around 1.6–2 g (0.056–0.071 oz) and a length of 5–6 cm (2.0–2.4 in), it is the smallest living bird. The male has the green pileum and fiery red throat, iridescent gorget with elongated lateral plumes, bluish upper-parts, and the rest of the underparts mostly greyish white. The male is smaller than the female. The female is green above, whitish below, with white tips to the outer tail feathers. Compared to other small hummingbirds, which often have a slender appearance, the bee hummingbird looks rounded and chunky.
Female bee hummingbirds are bluish green with a pale gray underside. The tips of their tailfeathers have white spots. During the mating season, males have a reddish to pink head, chin, and throat. The female lays only two eggs at a time.
As the smallest bird in the world, it is no larger than a big insect and, as its name suggests, is scarcely larger than a bee. Like all hummingbirds, it is a swift, strong flier.
Watch the video for further information about more animals categorized as “The Smallest Animals in the World”.
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