Amau Frog
Amau Frog
Amphibian
The Amau frog is the smallest known animal with a backbone, tiny enough to perch comfortably on a human fingernail.
💡 Fun Facts
- The world's smallest known vertebrate (animal with a backbone).
- Discovered in Papua New Guinea in 2009.
- They are so small they live entirely in wet leaf litter.
Name Story
Paedophryne amauensis
means “Child-toad from Amau”
What does its name mean?
- Paedophryne — child toadGreek pais 'child' + phryne 'toad'
- amauensis — from AmauAmau, a village in Papua New Guinea, + Latin -ensis 'from'
At under 8 millimetres long, this is the tiniest backboned animal known on Earth — small enough to perch on a fingertip — so it looks forever 'child'-sized.