History speaks that during early stages of evolution reptiles ruled the earth. The dinosaurs in particular were almost there on all continents, and became extinct later. Now their smallest cousin is a three centimeter Mini-Meleon. The species in spite of its size hunts on flies which are equal to its size. The scientists recently have come across four such species called Brookesia micra - on a small islet, called Nosy Hara, just off the main island.

Genetic testing was performed on the world’s smallest reptile by students of the San Diego State University. They have revealed stunning facts of its origin. Ted Townsend who was on the discovery, reveals that, 'Their size suggests that chameleons might have evolved in Madagascar from small and inconspicuous ancestors, quite unlike the larger and more colourful chameleons most familiar to us today.’ They are believed to be sensitive to habitat destruction.

“The ex¬treme min¬iatur¬iz¬a¬tion of these dwarf rep¬tiles might be ac¬com¬pa¬nied by nu¬mer¬ous spe-cial¬iz¬a¬tions of the body¬ plan, and this con¬sti¬tutes a prom¬is¬ing field for fu¬ture re¬search,” said another researcher. “But most ur¬gent is to fo¬cus con¬serva¬t¬ion ef¬forts on these and oth¬er mi¬cro-en¬demic spe¬cies in Mad¬a¬gas¬car which are heavily threat¬ened by de¬for¬esta¬t¬ion.” Inspecting the dwarfism might give us a better insight as to how to protect ourselves against nature odds.  (With inputs from internet: AarKay)