Brookesia micra

Brookesia micra was discovered and named by a team of researchers led by Frank Glaw of the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology.{{cite web |url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120215/brookesia-micra-worlds-smallest-chameleon-discovered-madagascar |title=Brookesia micra, world's smallest chameleon, discovered in Madagascar |last=Phelan |first=Jessica |publisher=GlobalPost |date=15 February 2012 |accessdate=15 February 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217024752/http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120215/brookesia-micra-worlds-smallest-chameleon-discovered-madagascar |archivedate=17 February 2012 |url-status=live }} Glaw and his colleagues have been conducting expeditions into the Malagasy forests for eight years.{{cite news|last=Zukerman|first=Wendy|title=Itsy bitsy teeny weeny chameleons|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21478-itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-chameleons.html|accessdate=15 February 2012|newspaper=New Scientist|date=15 February 2012}} Members of the species had previously been labelled as Brookesia sp. "Nosy Hara" in 2007 by Glaw and Vences.

The specific epithet of B. micra is a derivation of the Latin form of the Greek word "μικρός" (mikros), which means either "tiny" or "small" and refers to the small body size.

The males of Brookesia micra reach a maximum snout-vent length of {{convert|16|mm|in|abbr=on}}, and the total body length of both of the sexes is less than {{convert|30|mm|in|abbr=on}}, ranking it among the smallest amniote vertebrates found anywhere in the world. Compared to Brookesia minima, B. micra has a shorter tail and a larger head. Adults of B. micra also have orange tails, as opposed to an inconspicuous brown one. The size of the lizard may be linked to its habitat, due to insular dwarfism.{{cite news|last=Mann|first=Adam|title=World's Tiniest Chameleons Found in Madagascar|url=https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/tiny-chameleons/|accessdate=15 February 2012|newspaper=Wired|date=14 February 2012}}

Brookesia micra, together with three other species, were found in north Madagascar in 2005. This species was discovered on a small, uninhabited island in the Nosy Hara archipelago off the coast of Madagascar.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2012-02-15/brookesia-micra-worlds-smallest-chameleon-discovered-madagascar|title=Brookesia micra, world's smallest chameleon, discovered in Madagascar|website=Public Radio International|language=en|access-date=2019-02-04}} They typically reside in leaf litter during the day, and climb up into tree branches as high as {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}} at night to sleep.{{cite news |last=Mustain |first=Andrea |title=World's Tiniest Chameleon Discovered |url=http://www.livescience.com/18481-world-tiniest-chameleon-discovered.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215100633/http://www.livescience.com//18481-world-tiniest-chameleon-discovered.html |archivedate=15 February 2012 |url-status=live |accessdate=15 February 2012 |newspaper=Live Science |date=14 February 2012 }}{{cite news|last=Davies|first=Ella|title=Tiny lizards found in Madagascar|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17028940|accessdate=15 February 2012|newspaper=BBC Nature|date=15 February 2012|archive-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911205106/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17028940|url-status=dead}} B. micra habitats are most prevalent in areas with tsingy (i.e., limestone karst), potentially because of the moisture it provides, the protection from predators, and/or that it is the most abundant ecological feature of the area.{{Cite journal|last=Villeneuve|first=Andrew|date=2017|title=Habitat Selection and Population Density of the World's Smallest Chameleon, Brookesia micra, on Nosy Hara, Madagascar|journal=Herpetological Conservation and Biology|volume=12|pages=334–341}} High altitudes (500-700 meters) and sloped ground (due to higher levels of water shedding) were additional features that were common in B. micra habitats, while leaf litter was not found to be a very important characteristic of their habitats. B. micra lives in an area subject to illegal logging, which may make the species "sensitive to habitat destruction", according to researcher Jorn Köhler.{{cite news|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/15/worlds-tiniest-chameleon-discovered|title=World's tiniest chameleon discovered|publisher=Quebecor Media|newspaper=Toronto Sun|date=15 February 2012|accessdate=15 February 2012}} Due to the highly specific nature of B. micra's habitat, the species would be at high risk for extinction if habitat destruction were to occur.

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• {{OA-attribution| {{Cite journal | last1 = Glaw | first1 = F. | last2 = Köhler | first2 = J. R. | last3 = Townsend | first3 = T. M. | last4 = Vences | title = Rivaling the World's Smallest Reptiles: Discovery of Miniaturized and Microendemic New Species of Leaf Chameleons (Brookesia) from Northern Madagascar | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0031314 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = e31314 | year = 2012 | pmid = 22348069| pmc =3279364 | doi-access = free }} }}

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{{Commons category|Brookesia micra}}

{{Portal bar|Amphibians and Reptiles}}

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Category:Endemic fauna of Madagascar

Category:Reptiles of Madagascar

Category:Reptiles described in 2012

Category:Taxa named by Frank Glaw

Category:Taxa named by Jörn Köhler

Category:Taxa named by Miguel Vences