Picture a chameleon so small that it can fit on the tip of your finger. That’s exactly what researchers discovered in Madagascar, an island nation off the east coast of Africa. The island is home to many creatures that can’t be found anywhere else in the world. This little lizard, called a nano-chameleon, is one of them.
Researchers found two of these tiny lizards, a male and a female, in a rainforest. The male is slightly smaller than the female. It measures less than an inch from nose to tail. That could make it the smallest reptile in the world. Scientists have identified about 11,500 reptile species, and none are that tiny.
Scientists also believe that the little lizards are critically endangered. Much of their rainforest habitat has been wiped out by deforestation, or the cutting down and burning of trees. But there is some good news for the nano-chameleons: The small area of the rainforest where they were discovered was recently protected.