''Mini'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of tiny

microhylid The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

frogs that are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to southeastern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

where they live among leaf litter in lowland forests. The three species and the genus itself were only

scientifically described A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

in 2019; although not yet rated by the IUCN, they have very small ranges and it has been recommended that two qualify as critically endangered and ''M. ature'' as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessarily ...

. At about in snout–to–vent length, ''M. mum'' and ''M. scule'' are two of the world's smallest frogs, and the larger ''M. ature'' is only . They were formerly confused with ''

Stumpffia ''Stumpffia'' is a genus of microhylid frogs that are endemic to Madagascar. They are mostly brown frogs that typically live among leaf litter. ''S. contumelia'' has a snout–vent length of about , making it one of the world's smallest frogs ...

'', another genus of tiny frogs from Madagascar. All are well-

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

d brown frogs.

Species

There are currently 3 species: * ''

Mini ature ''Mini ature'' is a species of very small microhylid frog endemic to Madagascar described in 2019. The scientific name of the species refers to its size, being a pun on the word ''miniature''. Although it measures only in snout–vent length, ...

'' Scherz ''et al.'', 2019 * '' Mini mum'' Scherz ''et al.'', 2019 * ''

Mini scule ''Mini scule'' is a species of microhylid frog endemic to Madagascar that was described in 2019. The scientific name of the species refers to its size, being a pun on the word ''miniscule'' (a misspelling of ''minuscule''). It is very small ...

'' Scherz ''et al.'', 2019

References

Cophylinae Amphibian genera Endemic frogs of Madagascar Taxa named by Mark D. Scherz Taxa named by Andolalao Rakotoarison Taxa named by Angelica Crottini {{Microhylidae-stub