Fauna of Madagascar

The history of the fauna of Madagascar in the context of plate tectonics and paleoclimate over the last 200 million years (Aepyornithidae arrived later than is indicated).
A good example of Malagasy convergent evolution is the fossa, a Malagasy carnivore that has evolved in appearance and behaviour to be so like a large cat that it was originally classified in Felidae, when it is in fact more closely related to the mongoose

The fauna of Madagascar is a part of the wildlife of Madagascar.

Madagascar has been an isolated island for about 70 million years, breaking away from Africa around 165 million years ago, then from India nearly 100 million years later. This isolation led to the development of a unique endemic fauna.

Before humans arrived about 2,000 years ago, there were many large and unusual animals living there, descended from species that were originally present when Madagascar became an island, or from species that later crossed the sea to Madagascar. Ecological niches were often filled by animals with quite different histories from those on the African mainland, often leading to convergent evolution. A large proportion of these endemic Malagasy animals have died out since the arrival of humans, most particularly the megafauna.

Despite this, and massive deforestation, Madagascar is still home to an incredible array of wildlife, the vast majority of which is unique in the world.[1] Madagascar is a primary spot for ecotourism,[2] with more than fifty national parks and other protected reserves.

There are believed to have been only four colonization events of terrestrial mammals from mainland Africa. They brought to Madagascar the ancestors of its tenrecs, lemurs, carnivorans and nesomyine rodents. The other mammalian colonizations were those of the amphibious hippopotamuses (now extinct) and bats.

Tailless tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus), the largest of the tenrecs.
  1. ^ Benstead, Jonathan P.; Goodman, Steven D. (2003). The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-30306-3.
  2. ^ Schuurman, Derek; Nick Garbutt; Bradt, Hilary (2001). Madagascar Wildlife: A Visitor's Guide (2nd ed.). Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 1-84162-029-7.