Monte Iberia eleuth
The Monte Iberia eleuth, or Monte Iberia dwarf frog (Eleutherodactylus iberia), is a very tiny frog found only in a small area of eastern Cuba. It is listed as Critically Endangered because its habitat is shrinking and the frog is known from just two places.
Size and look: It is the smallest frog in the Northern Hemisphere, about 10 millimeters long from snout to vent. It is usually darker than close relatives and has short back markings. It has few teeth and an extremely small voice box, which gives it a high-pitched, chirping call.
Where it lives: This frog lives in rainforest with wet, poorly drained soil. It has two isolated populations in Holguín Province, both at elevations below 600 meters. The original population was found on Monte Iberia, while a second, smaller population is near Nibujón on the coast.
How it reproduces: Very little is known, but a female specimen was found beside an egg, suggesting it may lay one egg at a time and that parents may help raise the young.
What threatens it: The wildlife in its range is affected by human activity. The second population has faced significant disturbance over the past decades, which endangers the species’ survival.
What it eats: Like other tiny frogs, it hunts small invertebrates such as insects, moths, and spiders.
Discovery: It was first found in 1993 by Cuban scientist Alberto Estrada and researcher S. Blair Hedges during a search in eastern Cuba. The species name comes from Mount Iberia, where it was discovered.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:37 (CET).