PNG frogs among top finds of 2011

THE discovery of the world’s known smallest frogs in Papua New Guinea has been rated one of the best animal finds in 2011.
Other extraordinary finds were snakes, a bat and even a monkey named after the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the Top Secret Writers website said.
PNG’s tiny frogs Paedophrynedekot and Paedophryneverrucosa are two recently discovered species of tree frog.
Described as being tinier than a penny, the two species are so small and only measure 8mm to 9mm.
The frogs are described as brownish-red in colour with brown and black coloured triangle markings on their sides along with some very attractive wart-like protrusions.
Both of the newly-located species are thought to be the most diminutive frogs that scientists are likely to ever discover.
Researchers claim the females can only have two eggs, which limits their ability to breed.
A snub nosed breed of monkey with a pompadour-like head of fur has been nicknamed the Elvis Monkey.
Discovered in Myanmar, it has a nose that’s so short it is believed that rainfall causes the animal to sneeze.
They are most vulnerable to hunters during the rainy season when they lay still and tuck their heads between their knees to protect their noses from the rain.
The Elvis monkeys are being hunted so aggressively that scientists believe only 300 remain in the wild, and have deemed the animal critically endangered.
In South Africa, the Leaproach was discovered in Table Mountain National Park, just outside of Cape Town.
Leaproaches are only four tenths of an inch long, yet scientists say the creatures can jump 50 times their body length.
Jokingly called “roachhoppers,” Leaproaches thrive in South African grasslands on a diet of grasshopper excrement.
In February, The Journal of the American Society of Mammologists reported on the discovery of the Beelzebub Tube Nose Bat.
Located in the tropical forests of Vietnam, there’s nothing at all satanic about this little winged mammal.
Hungarian National Museum Department of Zoology representative Gabor Csorba said the Murina Beelzebub was given its devilish scientific moniker in honour of the animal’s dark colouring and its overly protective behaviour in the wild.