Madagascar, located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, is the fourth largest island in the world. Its long isolation from neighboring continents allowed the evolution of distinct communities of plants and animals. It is home to five percent of the world's plant and animal species, 80 percent of which are endemic to Madagascar. some biogeographers refer to the island as the "eighth continent", in recognition of its uniqueness and diversity. Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... In biology, a species is, loosely speaking, a group of related organisms that share a more or less distinctive form and are capable of interbreeding. ... This article is about the ecological meaning of endemic. See also endemic (epidemiology). ... Biogeography is the science which deals with questions of the distribution of species usually at regional to continental scales. ...

Madagascar and neighboring Indian Ocean islands form a distinctive sub-region of the Afrotropic ecozone, which botanist Armen Takhtajan called the Madagascan Region. The region is characterized by numerous endemic taxa of plants and animals, like the lemurs. Madagascar and the Seychelles are fragments of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. As Gondwana began to break up 160 MYA (million years ago), Madagascar broke away first from Africa, and 89 million years ago broke away from India. Many of Madagascar's plant and animal species are of ancient Gondwanian origin. Madagascar remained close to Africa and for a time to India, and some plants and animals were able to cross the straits separating Madagascar from the neighboring continents. The other Indian Ocean islands, like the Comoros and Mascarene Islands, are volcanic islands that formed more recently, and were populated by plants and animals from Madagascar, Africa, and the Seychelles. The Afrotropic Ecozone is Africa south of the Sahara Desert. ... Ecozone is a classification system of the world first proposed by Miklos Udvardy under the name biogeographical realms for conservation purposes. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Armen Takhtajan (born 1910) is a Russian botanist, one of the most important figures in 20th Century plant evolution and systematics and biogeography. ... This article is about the ecological meaning of endemic. See also endemic (epidemiology). ... A taxon (plural taxa) is an element of a taxonomy, e. ... Superfamilies and Families Cheirogaleoidea Cheirogaleidae Lemuroidea Lemuridae Lepilemuridae Indridae Lemurs are part of a class of primates known as prosimians, and make up the infraorder Lemuriformes. ... Pangea broke into the two supercontinents, Laurasia and Gondwana The southern supercontinent Gondwana (originally Gondwanaland) included most of the landmasses which make up todays continents of the southern hemisphere, including Antarctica, South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Arabia, Australia-New Guinea and New Zealand. ... Mya has more than one meaning: Mya, an American R&B singer. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... The Mascarene Islands (or Mascarenhas Archipelago) is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, which includes Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, and Cargados Carajos shoals. ...

Henri Perrier de la Bâthie (1921) proposed division of Madagascar into two distinct floristic provinces. The Flore au vent (windward flora), later called the Région de l'Est (Eastern Region), includes those areas receiving the direct influence of the moist southeast trade winds, which include the eastern coastal region and the central highlands, which run north-south along the spine of the island. The Eastern region also included humid pockets further westward, including Sambirano and Isalo. The Flore sous le vent (leeward flora), now called the Région de l'Ouest (Western Region), lies in the rain shadow of the central highlands. It includes the drier western and southern portions of the Island, as well as the island's northern tip. Henri Perrier de la Bâthie (1873–1958) was a French botanist who specialized in the plants of Madagascar. ... A floristic province is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. ... The trade winds are a pattern of wind found in bands around the Earths equatorial region. ... A rain shadow (or more accurately, precipitation shadow) is a dry region on the surface of the Earth that is leeward or behind a mountain with respect to the prevailing wind direction. ...

The Eastern and Western regions can be further subdivided into seven terrestrial ecoregions. The Eastern region includes two tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregions, the Madagascar lowland forests along the eastern coastal strip, and the Madagascar subhumid forests which occupies the highlands above 600-800 meters elevation. At the highest elevations, above 2000 meters, the subhumid forests transition to the Madagascar ericoid thickets, a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion. Ecoregions are defined by the World Wildlife Fund as relatively large units of land or water containing a distinct assemblage of natural communities and species, with boundaries that approximate the original extent of natural communities prior to major land-use change. Terrestrial ecoregions are land ecoregions, as distinct from freshwater... Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, also known as tropical rain forests, are a tropical and subtropical biome. ... The Madagascar lowland forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, found on the eastern coast of the island of Madagascar. ... The Madagascar subhumid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion which covers most of the central highlands of the island of Madagascar. ... The Madagascar ericoid thickets is a montane shrublands ecoregion, found in the high mountains of Madagascar. ... Montane grasslands and shrublands is biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. ...

The Madagascar dry deciduous forests, a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion includes western Madagascar and northern tip of the island. Two xeric shrublands regions cover the southwest and south of the island; the dry forests transition to the Madagascar succulent woodlands in the southwest, and the drier Madagascar spiny thickets occupies the southernmost region of the island. Introduction Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests is a biome located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. ... Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by a dry climate. ...

Eight flowering plant families are endemic to Madagascar: Asteropeiaceae, Didymelaceae, Didiereaceae, Kaliphoraceae, Melanophyllaceae, Physenaceae, Sarcolaenaceae, and Sphaerosepalaceae. The Seychelles have one endemic plant family, Mesdusagynaceae, and family Psiloxylaceae is endemic to the Macarene Islands. Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Genera Alluaudia Alluaudiopsis Decaryia Didierea Didiereaceae is a small family of just four genera and 11 species of flowering plants endemic to Madagascar, where they form an important component of the Madagascar spiny forests. ... Genera Eremolaena Leptolaena Mediusella Pentachlaena Perrierodendron Rhodolaena Sarcolaena Schizolaena Xerochlamys Xyloölaena The Sarcolaenaceae are a family of flowering plants endemic to Madagascar. ... species Psilioxylon mauritanum is species of white-barked flowering evergreen trees, bearing essential oils, the sole species of family Psiloxylaceae. ...

Before the arrival of humans, Madagascar was home to six lineages of mammals: lemurs, endemic carnivores, a pygmy hippopotamus, tenrecs, rodents, and bats. The lemurs are thought to be descended from a common ancestor, which crossed to Madagascar over 62 million years ago. Bones of extinct giant lemurs, as large as a gorilla, have been found on the island. Recent DNA evidence suggests that Madagascar's eight endemic carnivores, including the Malagasy "mongooses" (Galidia, Galidictis, Mungotictus, and Salanoia), fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), Falanouc (Eupleres goudotii), and Malagasy Civet (Fossa fossana), are descended from a single ancestor which crossed from Africa to Madagascar 18-24 million years ago. Superfamilies and Families Cheirogaleoidea Cheirogaleidae Lemuroidea Lemuridae Lepilemuridae Indridae Lemurs are part of a class of primates known as prosimians, and make up the infraorder Lemuriformes. ... Families Canidae Felidae Herpestidae Hyaenidae Mephitidae Mustelidae Nandiniidae Odobenidae Pinnipedia Procyonidae Ursidae Viverridae The diverse order Carnivora includes over 260 placental mammals. ... they are fat friends ... Subfamilies  Geogalinae  Potamogalinae  Oryzorictinae  Tenrecinae Tenrecidae (common name tenrecs) is a family of mammals found on Madagascar and parts of western Africa. ... Families Many, see text The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. ... Families Pteropodidae Emballonuridae Rhinopomatidae Craseonycteridae Rhinolophidae Nycteridae Megadermatidae Vespertilionidae Molossidae Antrozoidae Natalidae Myzopodidae Thyropteridae Furipteridae Noctilionidae Mystacinidae Mormoopidae Phyllostomidae Bats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera with forelimbs developed as wings. ... Superfamilies and Families Cheirogaleoidea Cheirogaleidae Lemuroidea Lemuridae Lepilemuridae Indridae Lemurs are part of a class of primates known as prosimians, and make up the infraorder Lemuriformes. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... Type species Gorilla gorilla Western Gorilla Species Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei Distinguish from guerilla. ... Binomial name Cryptoprocta ferox Bennett, 1833 The Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is a mammal native to the island of Madagascar. ...

17 species of lemurs, including the giant lemur, together with giant tortoises, the pygmy hippopotamus, and the elephant bird, an enormous flightless bird related to the ostrich, became extinct after the arrival of the human settlers approximately 2000 years ago. Giant tortoises are characteristic of tropical island life. ... Aepyornis is an extinct genus of flightless bird. ... Binomial name Struthio camelus Linnaeus, 1758 The Ostrich (Struthio camelus, Greek sparrow camel) is the largest living bird, reaching a height of up to 2. ...

The other islands of the Madagascan region also suffered from waves of extinctions as a result of human arrival on the islands. Numerous bird species, including the famous Dodo of Mauritius, became extinct after human settlers arrived. Most of the islands also had one or more species of giant tortoise before humans arrived; 19 of 20 giant tortoise species are presently extinct, and only the Aldabra Giant Tortoise still survives. Binomial name Raphus cucullatus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Mauritius Dodo (Raphus cucullatus, called Didus ineptus by Linnaeus), more commonly just Dodo, was a metre-high flightless bird of the island of Mauritius. ... Binomial name Geochelone gigantea Schweigger, 1812 The Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) is one of the largest tortoises in the world. ...

Ecoregions of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands

Madagascar lowland forests (Madagascar)
Madagascar subhumid forests (Madagascar)
Madagascar dry deciduous forests (Madagascar)
Madagascar ericoid thickets (Madagascar)
Madagascar spiny thickets (Madagascar)
Madagascar succulent woodlands (Madagascar)
Madagascar mangroves (Madagascar)
The Madagascar lowland forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, found on the eastern coast of the island of Madagascar. ... The Madagascar subhumid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion which covers most of the central highlands of the island of Madagascar. ... The Madagascar ericoid thickets is a montane shrublands ecoregion, found in the high mountains of Madagascar. ...

Aldabra Island xeric scrub (Seychelles)
Comoros forests (Comoros)
Granitic Seychelles forests (Seychelles)
Mascarene forests (Mauritius, Réunion)
The Mascarene Islands (or Mascarenhas Archipelago) is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar, which includes Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, and Cargados Carajos shoals. ...

Reference

Yoder, A. D.; Burns, M. M.; Zehr, S.; Delefosse, T.; Veron, G.; Goodman, S. M.; Flynn, J. J. 2003. Single origin of Malagasy Carnivora from an African ancestor. Nature, no. 6924, pp. 734-736.

External links

• Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands biodiversity hotspot (Conservation International)
• Madagascar, A World Apart (Public Broadcasting System)
• The biological and cultural richness of Madagascar (WildMadagascar.org)
• Madagascar: Biodiversity and Conservation (Missouri Botanic Garden)

HI!!!