O’NEILL: Coming up, AI’s growing hunger for energy and water. But first this note on emerging science from Don Lyman.

LYMAN: In a scientific paper published early this year, herpetologist Mirco Sole and his colleagues at State University of Santa Cruz in Brazil, described what they say is the world’s smallest know amphibian and the smallest known vertebrate – Brachycephalus pulex, aka the Brazilian flea toad.

The males of the tiny amphibians averaged 7.1 mm long, or slightly over a quarter of an inch, while the females averaged 8.15 mm in length. The smallest male flea toad was just 6.45 mm long. These miniscule creatures could sit comfortably on a dime, which is 17.91 mm in diameter.

The scientists said being so small does affect the body structure of the flea toad. For example, their tiny feet have just two toes, as opposed to the usual five toes on the feet of larger frog and toad species.

Solé said there may be even smaller vertebrates that have yet to be discovered, but any that are less than about six millimeters long “would really challenge morphology and physics, but who knows.”

With the shortest known science note, I’m Don Lyman.