The smallest - and cutest - creatures you will ever see
25th June 2007
Daily Mail
As a 4.9 inch chihuahua is named the world's smallest dog, meet some more of the smallest - and quite frankly the most ridiculously cute - animals you will ever see.
When his owner shouts "Heel!" Ducky the dog has little choice but to take things literally. At just over ankle height, the three-year-old short-coat chihuahua from Boston in the U.S. has just been named the smallest living dog in the world by Guinness World Records.
At only 4.9in tall, Ducky weighs less than 1lb 6oz. His head is the size of a large strawberry. "He is such a funny little guy," says his owner Lisa Messier, who bought him for £2,500 when he was 13 months old. "He doesn't go out for walks, but if you want to go out, you can just put him in your bag."
Chihuahuas are the smallest dogs in the world - in fact, the only "natural" toy breed. Other small pups are the result of breeding down larger breeds. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Madonna are well-known fans of chihuahuas. Ducky succeeds Danka Kordak, a 5.4in chihuahua from Slovakia, in the record books.
The Brookesia minima is the smallest species of chameleon. This one is just half an inch. Found on the rainforest floor of Nosy Be Island off the north-west coast of Madagascar, females tend to be larger than males.
The world's smallest known lizard, the Jaragua Sphaero or dwarf gecko, measures only 0.6in from the base of its tail to its snout. This endangered species lives in Jaragua National Park in the Dominican Republic and on Beata Island off the southern coast of Hispaniola.
This black-headed sagui dwarf monkey from Brazil measures 4in and weighs 5.6oz. They are found in a small area between two remote rivers. The breed was discovered only ten years ago when a local man found one on a boat and showed it to a scientist, who tested its DNA.
Measuring just over 5in, Dylan the Papillon is Britain's smallest dog. The name of the breed comes from the French word for butterfly because its ears and head resemble the insect. The breed evolved in France and Belgium and it has been said that Marie Antoinette was a fan of the Papillon's ancestor - the toy spaniel - with one accompanying her to the guillotine.
Mr Peebles, the world's smallest short-haired domestic cat, measures just 6.1in - the size of a typical sixmonthold kitten. After being rescued from a house where he was badly treated, he lives in a vet's clinic in the U.S.
Tiny Tim is a 0.75in Roborovski - the world's smallest breed of domestic hamster. The Mongolian mammals were imported to Britain by London Zoo in the Sixties, and they are never more than 2in.
Walter, the smallest tortoise in the world, perches on the head of 35-year-old giant tortoise Otto at Hanover Zoo. While the largest tortoise measures up to 43in, the smallest is only 3in.
Only slightly bigger than a 50p coin, PeeWee is the smallest hamster in the world. Weighing less than an ounce, the golden hamster stopped growing when he was three weeks old - his five brothers and sisters went on to measure between 4in and 5in.
The pygmy shrew or sorex minutus is one of five types in Britain and measures as little as 11/2in. They feed mainly on woodlice and insects, can eat 125per cent of their bodyweight and live up to 13 months.
One of the smallest primates on earth, the tiny Philippine Tarsier is a nocturnal animal that feeds on insects. Growing up to 41/2in, it is a protected species, but, sadly, looks in danger of becoming extinct. Often mistakenly called a monkey, it is, in fact, related to lemurs and bushbabies.
These pygmy marmosets are clinging to a zookeeper's fingers at Froso Zoo in Sweden. The world's smallest breed of monkey, found in the upper Amazon basin, they can reach a height of 13.7in, but these newborns are only 3in.
This bee hummingbird measures 2in from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail. Weighing only 2g - as much as half a teaspoon of water - it is found in Cuba's dense forest. Only the male has a red head - the female is plainer.
dailymail.co.uk
25th June 2007
Daily Mail
As a 4.9 inch chihuahua is named the world's smallest dog, meet some more of the smallest - and quite frankly the most ridiculously cute - animals you will ever see.
When his owner shouts "Heel!" Ducky the dog has little choice but to take things literally. At just over ankle height, the three-year-old short-coat chihuahua from Boston in the U.S. has just been named the smallest living dog in the world by Guinness World Records.
At only 4.9in tall, Ducky weighs less than 1lb 6oz. His head is the size of a large strawberry. "He is such a funny little guy," says his owner Lisa Messier, who bought him for £2,500 when he was 13 months old. "He doesn't go out for walks, but if you want to go out, you can just put him in your bag."
Chihuahuas are the smallest dogs in the world - in fact, the only "natural" toy breed. Other small pups are the result of breeding down larger breeds. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Madonna are well-known fans of chihuahuas. Ducky succeeds Danka Kordak, a 5.4in chihuahua from Slovakia, in the record books.
The Brookesia minima is the smallest species of chameleon. This one is just half an inch. Found on the rainforest floor of Nosy Be Island off the north-west coast of Madagascar, females tend to be larger than males.
The world's smallest known lizard, the Jaragua Sphaero or dwarf gecko, measures only 0.6in from the base of its tail to its snout. This endangered species lives in Jaragua National Park in the Dominican Republic and on Beata Island off the southern coast of Hispaniola.
This black-headed sagui dwarf monkey from Brazil measures 4in and weighs 5.6oz. They are found in a small area between two remote rivers. The breed was discovered only ten years ago when a local man found one on a boat and showed it to a scientist, who tested its DNA.
Measuring just over 5in, Dylan the Papillon is Britain's smallest dog. The name of the breed comes from the French word for butterfly because its ears and head resemble the insect. The breed evolved in France and Belgium and it has been said that Marie Antoinette was a fan of the Papillon's ancestor - the toy spaniel - with one accompanying her to the guillotine.
Mr Peebles, the world's smallest short-haired domestic cat, measures just 6.1in - the size of a typical sixmonthold kitten. After being rescued from a house where he was badly treated, he lives in a vet's clinic in the U.S.
Tiny Tim is a 0.75in Roborovski - the world's smallest breed of domestic hamster. The Mongolian mammals were imported to Britain by London Zoo in the Sixties, and they are never more than 2in.
Walter, the smallest tortoise in the world, perches on the head of 35-year-old giant tortoise Otto at Hanover Zoo. While the largest tortoise measures up to 43in, the smallest is only 3in.
Only slightly bigger than a 50p coin, PeeWee is the smallest hamster in the world. Weighing less than an ounce, the golden hamster stopped growing when he was three weeks old - his five brothers and sisters went on to measure between 4in and 5in.
The pygmy shrew or sorex minutus is one of five types in Britain and measures as little as 11/2in. They feed mainly on woodlice and insects, can eat 125per cent of their bodyweight and live up to 13 months.
One of the smallest primates on earth, the tiny Philippine Tarsier is a nocturnal animal that feeds on insects. Growing up to 41/2in, it is a protected species, but, sadly, looks in danger of becoming extinct. Often mistakenly called a monkey, it is, in fact, related to lemurs and bushbabies.
These pygmy marmosets are clinging to a zookeeper's fingers at Froso Zoo in Sweden. The world's smallest breed of monkey, found in the upper Amazon basin, they can reach a height of 13.7in, but these newborns are only 3in.
This bee hummingbird measures 2in from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail. Weighing only 2g - as much as half a teaspoon of water - it is found in Cuba's dense forest. Only the male has a red head - the female is plainer.
dailymail.co.uk