Mini ature

Mini ature was described in 2019 by the herpetologist Mark Scherz and colleagues on the basis of an adult specimen collected in Andohahela National Park in Anosy in Madagascar in 2004.[1] The name Mini ature is a pun on the word miniature, referring to the extremely small size of the species. It is regarded as an invariable noun.[1] Along with Mini mum and Mini scule, the other two species in its genus, the species received publicity when it was first described due to its humorous scientific name.[3][4]

It is part of the family Microhylidae, a widespread family of over 650 species of mostly small frogs. It is most closely related to Mini scule, with these two species forming a clade sister to Mini mum. The study that described the species placed the genus Mini as sister to Plethodontohyla, despite the former being morphologically more similar to Stumpffia.[1] However, a 2021 phylogeny by Alain Dubois and colleagues instead suggests that to be monophyletic, both Plethodontohyla and Mini should be lumped with Cophyla. This would make the present species' name Cophyla ature.[5]

The following cladograms show the differing phylogenies found by the 2019 and 2021 studies:[1][5]