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Wednesday, Jan 11, 2012 10:09 PM UTC

Itty Bitty Frog Named World’s Smallest Vertebrate

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Topics: From the Wires,

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A frog that can perch on the tip of your pinkie with room to spare has been claimed as the world’s smallest vertebrate, out-tinying a fish that got the title in 2006. But a scientist who found another weensy fish disputes both claims.

The adult frogs are about three-tenths of an inch long, and a millimeter or so smaller than a carp found in Sumatra.

An article Wednesday in the journal PLoS One named Paedophryne amauensis (pee-doh-FRY-nee AM-OW-en-sis) as the world’s smallest animal with a spine. But a University of Washington scientist says a male anglerfish he found in 2006 is even smaller.

Louisiana State University scientist Christopher Austin, who found the frogs, says he was comparing average species size — and the 1.8-inch female anglerfish is comparatively huge.

More JANET McCONNAUGHEY.

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