ILLUSTRATIONS Felipe Cachopa
They are the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and the frog Paedophryne amauensis, respectively.
As an adult, the blue whale is, on average, 24 m long and 160 tonnes – males also hold the record for the largest penis in existence, with a member measuring 2.4 m. The species is threatened with extinction and it is estimated that there are between 10,000 and 25,000 individuals, which live around 85 years and can be found in all oceans.
+ Does every animal have red blood?
+ Which animal lays the most eggs?
already the Paedophryne amauensis, a species of frog discovered in 2009 in Papua New Guinea, grows to just 7.7 mm as an adult – the size of a fly. The frog is 3,100 times smaller than the whale. North American researchers, who documented the species for the first time, believe that this frog has adapted to be ignored by large predators.
READER QUESTION Dario Guilherme Macedo, Caico, RN
SOURCES National Geographic; discovery and Guinness World Records