Carnivorous Sea Sponge: Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute discovered a meat-eating sponge, Chondrocladia lyra, at 11,000-foot depths off the California coast. Its harplike vanes are covered with hooks that snare small crustaceans. The creature releases sperm packets from the balls atop the vanes; they are caught by nearby sponges for fertilization. (Credit: ©MBARI)
©MBARI
World's Tiniest Frog: This housefly-size frog, Paedophryne amauensis, has snatched the record as the world’s smallest vertebrate. One-third of an inch long and weighing 0.02 gram, it is a millimeter shorter than the Southeast Asian fish, the runner-up. Louisiana State University herpetologist Christopher Austin announced last January that he discovered the species after following chirping noises in a Papua New Guinea forest. (Courtesy Christopher Austin/Louisiana State University)
