As the saying goes, big things sometimes come in small packages. In the case of one new frog species discovered in Brazil, make that itty bitty.
At 6.95 millimeters, Brachycephalus dacnis is one of the smallest vertebrates known to science, Mongabay reported. A team of scientists formally described the species in October 2024 after coming across it in the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil's São Paulo state.
This frog is particularly nifty because it is so surefooted, the publication explained. Frogs in this genus are generally a bit clumsy with their jumpings and landings — a sacrifice to their vestibular systems that comes as a result of evolving to be so tiny.
"The size makes this frog very special," Edelcio Muscat, one of the researchers who described the species, told Mongabay. "The miniaturization process hasn't affected any of its organs or its skeleton."
The Atlantic Forest is known as a biodiversity hotspot, according to the publication. In fact, more than 30 mammal species, nine bird species, and about 100 frog species have been discovered there since the 1990s, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
In addition to being a home for an array of animals, the forest also helps provide clean air, soil protection, pollination services, climate regulation, food, medicine, and drinking water, WWF said. In fact, 60% of Brazil's population relies on water from the Atlantic Forest, the organization added.
However, only 13% of the Atlantic Forest remains, per Mongabay. The good news is that organizations like WWF are working to restore this important ecosystem. For example, in 2018 the organization helped map priority areas and restore 100 hectares of forest land there.
Meanwhile, habitat loss isn't the only threat facing frogs across the globe. Other factors like rising global temperatures, non-native species, pollution, and disease have all contributed to significant declines of amphibians worldwide, Burke Museum asserted.
While it ain't easy being green, some frog conservation efforts are making a difference. For instance, the Mississippi-native dusky gopher frog — once on the brink of extinction — has made a comeback, thanks to targeted conservation efforts. Plus, the California red-legged frog, which has lost 70% of its habitat and is a threatened species, is now thriving at a 2,000-acre wildland preserve.
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Adrian Garda, a herpetologist at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, told Mongabay that "the discovery of this species reveals how much we've lost without even realizing it."
The scientist, who was not involved in the study, added, "Right before our eyes, such a peculiar and extremely miniaturized vertebrate existed. What might we have lost over the past 40 to 80 years of industrialization?"
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