Dwarf gecko world's smallest lizard

Scientists have discovered the world's smallest lizard and immediately declared that it is an endangered species.

Measuring 2cm from nose to tail, the tiny reptile is so small that it can curl up on a 5c piece - smaller than any bird, mammal or other reptile.

Biologists found the Jaragua Sphaero, or dwarf gecko, on Beata Island, which is part of the Dominican Republic's Jaragua National Park in the Caribbean.

Blair Hedges of Pennsylvania State University and Richard Thomas of the University of Puerto Rico discovered the new species living in a sink hole and in a cave in part of a partly destroyed forest.

"Our discovery illustrates that we still don't know everything about the Earth species, even in areas that are very close to the United States," Dr Hedges said.

"The island home of this tiny lizard is closer to Miami than Miami is to Puerto Rico and we did not even know the species existed, although the area has been studied by biologists for several hundred years," he said.

"It is hard to say whether this lizard is as small as a lizard can get, but you would think it probably is approaching that limit because it is the smallest of all 23,000 known species of reptiles, birds and mammals," Dr Hedges said.

The scientists warned that the Jaragua lizard, officially named Sphaerodactylus ariasae, is under threat from local deforestation.

- INDEPENDENT