Australia (continent) meanings: travel writer Paul Theroux included New Zealand in his definition and others have used it for Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. Another biologist, Richard Dawkins, coined the name "Australinea" in 2004. "Australia-New Guinea" has also been used. With a total land area of , the Australian continent is the smallest, and second-lowest human inhabited (after Antarctica) continent on Earth. The continental shelf connecting the islands, half of which is less than deep, covers some , including the Sahul Shelf and Bass Strait. As the country of Australia is mostly on a single landmass, and comprises most of the continent,
Smallest organisms montane environments. There is relatively little data on size variation among individuals, growth from metamorphosis to adulthood or size variation among populations in these species. Additional studies and the discovery of further minute frog species are likely to change the rank order of this list. The dwarf gecko ("Sphaerodactylus ariasae") and the Virgin Islands dwarf sphaero ("S. parthenopion"), two geckos in the genus "Sphaerodactylus", are the world's smallest known reptile species and smallest lizard, with a snout-vent length of . A few "Brookesia" chameleons from Madagascar are equally small, with a reported snout-vent length of 15–18 millimetres for male dwarf