World's smallest frog found in Andes Mountains

photo courtesy National Geographic

Generally speaking, higher altitude means larger animals. But the world's smallest known frog species lives high in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru, between 9,925 and 10,466 feet.

Last month, scientists found the teeny critter in the leaf litter of a cloud forest in the upper Cosnipata Valley near Cusco. It's adorably diminutive size is its most distinctive characteristic. The females can be up to .49 of an inch while the males only make it to .44 of an inch.

And get this, when the female lays eggs, she only has two. Normal-sized frogs lay about 3,000 eggs at a time. No wonder they're extremely rare. Scientists believe there are about 30 to 75 frogs per hectare (2.5 acres) of their mountain habitat.