📸 PhotoPhoto: M.R.Bobadilla · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Jaragua Geckolet
Sphaerodactylus ariasae (Jaragua Geckolet · Jaragua Geckolet)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A body length of 16 mm is about 3/5 the diameter of a Korean 500-won coin (26.5 mm) (Comparison).
- 💡 An article from Pennsylvania State University notes that this lizard is small enough to curl up on a US 10-cent coin (dime) and stretch out full length on a 25-cent coin (quarter).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Jaragua Geckolet is a tiny gecko living around Isla Beata southwest of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, announced as a new species in 2001. Together with Sphaerodactylus parthenopion of the British Virgin Islands, it is introduced as sharing the title of the world's smallest lizard.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Even fully grown individuals measure only about 16 mm from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail. It is small enough to curl up on a coin.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Small groups have been found in sinkholes and caves within partially disturbed forest, and it reproduces by laying eggs. The rapid shrinking of its forest habitat is a concern for researchers.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2016) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/75605318/115485387
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4YQ67
- • iucnredlist.org — 115485387
- • wikidata.org — Q1938610
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Sphaerodactylus arisae.jpg
- • science.psu.edu — worlds-smallest-lizard-discovered-caribbean
- • reptile-database.reptarium.cz — species
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Sphaerodactylus glaucus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.