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Scientists in San Diego have described the earth's smallest, lightest animal with a backbone. H.J. Walker of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and William Watson of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, in La Jolla have identified the miniscule "stout infantfish," a new species no longer than the width of a pencil.
Found exclusively in the vicinity of Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea, only six specimens are known to exist.
The largest specimen-and only female-measures approximately a third of an inch (8.4 millimeters) while the males measure just over a quarter of an inch (7 millimeters). Roughly 500,000 of these fish weighed together would barely tip the scales at one pound. A full scientific description of the animal was published in the latest issue of Records of the Australian Museum.
_____________________________________________________________________ I would say an insect, I doubt a fish would be the world's smallest animal. Surely an ant is smaller.
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