A strikingly orange frog that fits on a pencil tip lives among the clouds in Brazil. Scientists encountered the newly named species, Brachycephalus lulai , in the cloud forests that cloak the Serra do Quiriri mountain range in the south of the country. B. lulai only measures up to a little over a half-inch long—female individuals are longer than males—making it among the tiniest four-legged creatures on the planet. The species was named after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s current president.
The international team of scientists spent years tracking down wee amphibians in the Brachycephalus genus, which live in a limited range among leaf litter in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Their colors vary from neon orange to more muted, green-tinged hues.
