March 2, 2021 With a body size of just 0.53 inches (13.5 mm), this nano-chameleon ( Brookesia nana) is the smallest known male of the roughly 11,500 known reptile species. Image via Frank Glaw. A German-Madagascan team of biologists has discovered a minuscule new species of chameleon that could be the smallest reptile on Earth. The scientists found two of the tiny lizards, one male and one female, in northern Madagascar, and named the new species Brookesia nana, or nano-chameleon. According to their study, published January 28, 2021 in the journal Scientific Reports, the male nano-chameleon has a body that’s only half an inch (13.5 mm) long – about the size of a sunflower seed – making it the smallest of all the roughly 11,500 known species of reptiles on the planet.