A team of international researchers found a small species of chameleon in the North of Madagascar, East Africa, and it is believed to be the world’s smallest reptile.

Their discovery was published in the open-access Journal of Scientific Reports.

Brookesia nana or B. nana may be small but they have extremely large genitals compared to other chameleon species. When flexed, their genitals account for 18.5 percent of their body size.

The adult male of the newly discovered species has a total body length of 21.6mm while the adult females are 28.9mm long.

When asked about the name of the species, Frank Glaw, lead author of the study and curator of Herpetology at the Bavarian State collection of Zoology, told Newsflash: “The inspiration was, of course, the smallness of the species.

“The first species of these mini chameleons was discovered as early as 1893 and named Brookesia minima, which means ‘the smallest,’ Mr. Glaw continued.

“In 2012 we discovered the even smaller species Brookesia micra, which is also named for its tiny size. And in this tradition, we also named Brookesia nana, which can be translated as ‘dwarf.’”

Mr. Glow also said that the smallest chameleons usually have the biggest genitalia relative to their body size. Scientists believe this may be due to a phenomenon called ‘sexual size dimorphism,’ which happens in species where females tend to be bigger than males. This means males need big genitals for successful reproduction.

The study’s co-author Dr. Mark D Scherz wrote on Twitter: “We know that Brookesia species have substantial sexual size dimorphism, with the males much smaller than females.

“The male in fact rides around on the female’s back until she is ready to mate. So it makes sense that their genitals are limited in ways their bodies aren’t.”

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