African pygmy mouse
Mice are easily recognized by their small size, but the African pygmy mouse takes that trait to the extreme. Measuring at under 7 centimeters in length and often weighing less than 10 grams, it is the world's smallest mouse.
In fact, it is so small that it typically hydrates itself solely by licking dew off tiny pebbles that it cleverly stacks in front of its burrow.
Pygmy marmoset
Occasionally referred to as the "pocket monkey" because they can easily fit into your breast pocket, these adorable, curious animals native to the Amazon rainforest are the world's smallest monkeys.
It's hard to imagine a monkey getting any smaller; pygmy marmosets rarely exhibit a length greater than about 15 or 16 centimeters, and adults typically weigh under 140 grams. Therefore, their diet consists of insects. They also live a long time given their size, occasionally reaching ages in excess of 20 years in captivity.
Evolutionary biologists from the University of Salford released a study in February 2018 announcing the pygmy marmoset actually are two different species: one that lives in the north Amazon River area and the other in the south.
"The beauty of genomics means that we can now see the pygmy marmoset is a term for two species which have been evolving independently for nearly 3 million years," said Professor Jean Boubli in Science Daily.
Long-tailed planigale
You might say that "planigale" is Australian for "small". These little guys, native to the land down under, are the world's smallest marsupials.
Their small size is exemplified by their flattened heads, which are typically one fifth as deep as they are wide. This adaptation allows planigales to squeeze into crevices and cracks any other mammal would find impossible. They weigh in at under 5 grams and reach lengths averaging under 60 millimeters.
American shrew moles
The smallest species of mole in the world is the American shrew mole, a tiny mammal measuring under 5 centimeters and weighing only about 10 grams.
Found in the U.S. Northwest and Canada's British Columbia, these adorable underground dwellers have smaller front paws than most other moles, a trait that is similar to a shrew.
Tree shrews
Not to be confused with the true shrews or elephant shrews, tree shrews are a group of mammals set apart.
In fact, they appear closely related to primates, though no clear fossil record of tree shrews exists. They've certainly got the brains to show for it; tree shrews have a greater brain-to-body-mass ratio than humans.
The smallest tree shrew in the world is the pen-tailed tree shrew, which can weigh as little as 25 grams and measure barely more than 10 centimeters.
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