Time and again, human behavior tends to prove our protective nature towards small animals. Most people who come across small animals tend to hold them in their hands to see how they fit.
Others also scale their sizes by inserting them in cups, glasses, or boxes. If you love animals as a hobby or for pleasure, take a look at animals that are 3 inches long/tall that you might want to see.
1. Speckled padloper tortoise
The speckled padloper tortoise is the smallest tortoise species on earth and one of the most miniature animals. This animal can grow to around 2.4 or 3.1 inches long.
They mainly inhabit areas of South Africa in the Little Namaqualand regions. They feed on tiny succulent plants and can initiate intimacy by nodding.
2. Bee hummingbird
The bee hummingbird is still the smallest bird in the world. The Mellisuga helenae, as it is known scientifically, can grow to an average of 3 inches and a maximum of 6.1 inches.
These birds are native to Cuba and weigh less than 2.268 grams.
They are also powerful and can flap their wings at a record 200 times a second.
3. William’s dwarf gecko
William’s dwarf gecko is, also known as the Electric Blue or Turquoise Gecko, can only grow to around 3 inches long.
They are known for their varying sexual dichromatism, where males have a bright, vibrant turquoise-blue body.
4. Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur
The Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur, also called the nocturnal mouse lemur, is another small primate species that can only be found in Madagascar.
These animals can grow to around 3 inches when fully matured, with the bigger ones reaching only 3.6 inches.
5. Barbados threadsnake
The Barbados threadsnake is the world’s smallest snake at around 3 inches long. These snakes are known to habit areas of Barbados because they are rarely found in other regions.
6. Pygmy marmoset
The Cebuella pygmaea, commonly known as the pygmy marmoset, is the smallest monkey on the planet.
This species primarily inhabits South American rainforests and grows between 3 and 6 inches tall, excluding their tails.
7. Pygmy possum
The pygmy possum is closely related to the kangaroo than a chinchilla, even though it does not show. These tiny marsupials are also distant cousins to the koalas, Tasmanian devils, and wombats.
They can grow to around 3 inches long and weigh less than 50 grams. Like all other possums, these are nocturnal and hang upside down from trees with their tails.
8. Hippocampus Denise
The Denise pygmy seahorse, popularly known as the pygmy seahorse, is one of the tiniest seahorses to be discovered.
It reaches a maximum length of around 3 inches, making them a rare seahorse species. However, these animals are spread out through the entire western pacific in Vanuatu, Indonesia, Palau, Solomon Islands, Micronesia, and Malaysia.
Despite being small, they survive by camouflaging.
9. Philippine Tarsier
The Philippine tarsier joins the list as one of the tiniest primates to ever exist. The animal weighs roughly 40 grams and grows about 3 inches long.
They mostly live in the Philippines and are characterized by big round eyes.
10. American shrew mole
The American shrew mole has two nickels that are less than 10 grams. This animal does not experience much growth in a lifetime and can only reach a maximum of 3 inches.
It is called Gibb’s shrew mole in some areas and primarily lives in moist forests around Southwestern British Columbia and northwestern United States.
11. Grasshopper
Adult grasshoppers grow to around 3 inches long, and depending on the species, they can weigh less than an ounce. These insects are characterized by brown, green, or yellowish colors.
However, more giant grasshoppers tend to grow over 5 inches long, enabling them to travel over long distances during cold seasons.
12. Butterfly
Butterflies are the most popular insects known to humans because of their bright colors and patching on flowers.
Butterflies can be between 5 mm and 12 inches long when fully grown. However, the average size of these insects is 3 inches.
13. Golden silk spider
The banana spider, calico spider, or giant wood spider is mainly confused with the black and yellow Argiope female spider.
The only difference is that the former is about 3 inches maximum while the latter is only 1 inch long.
14. Little brown skink
There are many skink species, and the little brown is the smallest. This lizard species lives in North America, primarily in northeastern American states.
They can grow to 3 or 5 inches long and maintain their size throughout their adult life. The little brown skink is semiaquatic but can also live in humid forest regions.
15. Bark Anole
The bark anole is the smallest species globally, with over 16 sub-species in existence. They can be gray or brown and can reach lengths of about 3 inches.
Their skin pattern resembles a tree’s bark which facilitates camouflaging. The males have a dewlap under their necks which separates them from the females.
16. Giant burrowing cockroach
The giant burrowing cockroach, popularly known as the rhinoceros cockroach, is native to Australia and primarily lives in tropical and subtropical regions in Queensland.
This massive insect grows to around 3 inches with a wingspan of about 7.9 inches.
17. Yellow-headed day gecko
Yellow-headed day geckos mainly live in the northwestern region of Madagascar. These small lizards grow to around 3.2 inches long and are rare animals.
They have, however, been declared as endangered species because people keep them as pets because of their yellow heads and blue bodies that make them brightly colorful.
The dimension of stuff has been an interest of mine ever since I was a child. What I believe is most fascinating about the dimension of stuff is how extremely long, tall and wide some objects are both on earth and in the universe.