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Madagascar Spiny Forests
The Madagascar spiny forests (also known as the Madagascar spiny thickets) is an ecoregion in the southwest of Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. The ecoregion contains an outstanding proportion of endemic plant species and is listed as one of the 200 most important ecological regions in the world; one of the Global 200. Flora This is the area with the highest level of plant endemism in Madagascar, with 48% of the genera and 95% of the species endemic.Elmqvist T, Pyyko ̈nen M, Tengo ̈M, Rakotondrasoa F, Rabakonandrianina E, et al (2007) Patterns of Loss and Regeneration of Tropical DryForest in Madagascar: The Social Institutional Context. PLoS ONE 2(5): e402. doi:10.1371 Many constituent plants show extreme adaptations to drought. Spiny plants of the endemic subfamily Didiereoideae form a conspicuous component, especially towards the east. They are woody but distantly related to the cacti. The remaining component of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are shrubs or trees, such as ''Hevea brasiliensis''. Some, such as ''Euphorbia canariensis'', are succulent and resemble cacti because of convergent evolution. This family has a cosmopolitan global distribution. The greatest diversity of species is in the tropics, however, the Euphorbiaceae also have many species in nontropical areas of all continents except Antarctica. Description The leaves are alternate, seldom opposite, with stipules. They are mainly simple, but where compound, are always palmate, never pinnate. Stipules may be reduced to hairs, glands, or spines, or in succulent species are sometimes absent. The plants can be monoecious or dioecious. The radially symmetrical flowers are unisexual, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arboretum D'Antsokay
Arboretum d'Antsokay or Antsokay Arboretum is a botanical garden near the city of Toliara in Madagascar. About 900 plant species grow in the Arboretum, 90% of these endemic to Madagascar, 80% of them considered to have medicinal value and many threatened with extinction. Lonely Planet and Rough Guides both list the Arboretum as the top attraction in Toliara. The Arboretum is located just off the RN7, about southeast of the city, and only from Toliara airport. It is open 7.30-17.30 and closed during the month of February. There is an interpretation centre, a small museum (with rocks, fossils and an Aepyornis egg), a display of musical instruments and local crafts, a shop, a restaurant, as well as accommodation for visitors at ''Auberge de la Table''. Guided tours are available in English language, English. Arboretum d'Antsokay collaborates on conservation projects with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF, and the CEPF. Geography Arboretum d'Ant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andohahela National Park
Andohahela National Park, in south-east Madagascar, is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy Highlands and contains the last humid rainforests in the southern part of Madagascar. The Park was inscribed in the World Heritage Site in 2007 as part of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana. History Andohahela has been a protected area since 1939 but did not become a national park until 1998. Geography Andohahela National Park is north-west of Tôlanaro and at the southern end of the Malagasy Highlands. The park is divided into three zones. The first, Malio, ranges from to the summit of Pic d' Andohahela at , and has dense lowland and montane rainforest with more than two hundred species of tree ferns, orchids, wild vanilla, lemurs and many birds. The second, Ihazofotsy-Mangatsiaka, contains dry spiny forest with rare birds and reptiles in altitudes ranging from to at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cap Sainte Marie Special Reserve
Cape Sainte Marie ( mg, Tanjona Vohimena; french: cap Sainte-Marie), formerly known as Cape Romain and Cape St. Mary, is the southernmost point of Madagascar. It is situated in the Androy region from Tsiombe Tsihombe (or: Tsiombe) is a municipality in Androy Region, Madagascar. It is situated at the Manambovo River and the Route nationale 10 Route nationale 10, or RN 10, is a trunk (route nationale) in France between Paris and the border with Spain .... It is the location of the Cap Sainte-Marie Special Reserve, a nature reserve which occupies most of the cape and was created in 1962. References Landforms of Madagascar[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beza Mahafaly Reserve
The Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve is a nature reserve in Madagascar northeast of Betioky Sud. The reserve also provides training and research opportunities. It consists of a fenced gallery forest, approximately , separated by from a gallery of arid spiny forest. The reserve has a museum that is open to tourists. Tree species featured in the two galleries include tamarind trees and Madagascar ocotillo, among many others. Animals residing in the galleries include four species of lemurs, four species of tenrecs, 17 species of saurians, 12 species of snakes, two species of tortoises and, in season, the Nile crocodile. There are over 100 species of birds. History The Reserve was founded in 1975, when community leaders formed a partnership with the University of Madagascar (now University of Antananarivo), Washington University, and Yale University aiming to protect the forest. It has been a centre for research and education since 1978, and the Bezà Mahafaly Monitoring Team of loca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berenty Reserve
Berenty Reserve is a small private reserve of gallery forest along the Mandrare River, set in the semi-arid spiny forest ecoregion of the far south of Madagascar. For more than three decades the late primatologist Alison Jolly (who started the research at Berenty), other researchers and students have visited Berenty to conduct fieldwork on lemurs. The reserve is also a favourite for visitors who want to see some of Madagascar's endemic bird species, which include owls and couas. The reserve has accommodation in the forest and a set of forest trails to explore. It attracts the most visitors of any Madagascar nature reserve. It is reached after a two-hour drive from Tôlagnaro on the southeast coast. See also * List of national parks of Madagascar * Madagascar spiny thickets The Madagascar spiny forests (also known as the Madagascar spiny thickets) is an ecoregion in the southwest of Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsimanampetsotsa National Park
Tsimanampetsotsa National Park also spelt Tsimanampetsotse, and known as Tsimanampetsotsa Nature Reserve is a 432 km2 national park on the south-west coast of Madagascar in the region Atsimo-Andrefana. The park is south of Toliara and south of the capital, Antananarivo. Route Nationales (RN) 10 to Faux Cap passes the park and the nearest airport is at Toliara. The national park contains and is named after Lake Tsimanampetsotsa. History and Significance Tsimanampetsotsa National Park encompasses the westernmost escarpment of the limestone Mahafaly Plateau. It was first protected in 1927 for its endemic flora and fauna and became a national park in 1966. It is within the Madagascar spiny forests or "spiny desert" of southern Madagascar, a globally distinctive ecoregion. This is the area with the highest level of plant endemism in Madagascar, with 48% of the genera and 95% of the species endemicElmqvist T, Pyyko ̈nen M, Tengo ̈M, Rakotondrasoa F, Rabakonandrianina E, et al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grandidier's Mongoose
Grandidier's mongoose (''Galidictis grandidieri''), also known as the giant-striped mongoose or Grandidier's vontsira, is a small carnivoran that lives only in a very small area of southwestern Madagascar, in areas of spiny forest vegetation. It is pale brown or grayish coloured, with eight wide, dark stripes on its back and sides. Grandidier's mongoose is larger than the related broad-striped Malagasy mongoose, ''G. fasciata'', and its stripes are not as wide. The species is named after Alfred Grandidier. This species has been called one of the least-studied carnivorans in the world. With a few exceptions, the majority of records of ''G. grandidieri'' come from a narrow zone at the western edge of the Mahafaly Plateau in the Parc National de Tsimanampetsotsa, making it the Madagascan carnivore with the smallest range. Nocturnal and crepuscular, this species lives in pairs which produce one offspring a year, in the summer. They hunt primarily by searching through ground litter an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verreaux's Sifaka
Verreaux's sifaka (''Propithecus verreauxi''), or the white sifaka, is a medium-sized primate in one of the lemur families, the Indriidae. It lives in Madagascar and can be found in a variety of habitats from rainforest to dry deciduous forests of western Madagascar and the spiny thickets of the south. Its fur is thick and silky and generally white with brown on the sides, top of the head, and on the arms. Like all sifakas, it has a long tail that it uses as a balance when leaping from tree to tree. However, its body is so highly adapted to an arboreal existence, on the ground its only means of locomotion is hopping. The species lives in small troops which forage for food. Anatomy In adulthood, the full head and body length is between . The tail of a fully grown Verreaux's sifaka grows to be between long. In weight, adult females reach on average, and adult males . Verreaux's sifaka has a relatively low, flat braincase. The face is broader than that of most other indriids, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ebenavia Maintimainty
''Ebenavia maintimainty'' is a small nocturnal gecko species of the genus '' Ebenavia'' that is native to Madagascar. It is found in a small area of limestone cliffs to the east of Lake Tsimanampetsotsa on the Mahafaly Plateau. This habitat forms part of the Madagascar spiny thickets The Madagascar spiny forests (also known as the Madagascar spiny thickets) is an ecoregion in the southwest of Madagascar. The vegetation type is found on poor substrates with low, erratic winter rainfall. The ecoregion contains an outstanding pr ... ecoregion. References * External links * Ebenavia Reptiles of the Indian Ocean Reptiles described in 1998 Madagascar spiny thickets {{gecko-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astrochelys Radiata
The radiated tortoise (''Astrochelys radiata'') is a tortoise species in the family Testudinidae. Although this species is native to and most abundant in southern Madagascar, it can also be found in the rest of this island, and has been introduced to the islands of Réunion and Mauritius. It is a very long-lived species, with recorded lifespans of up to 188 years. These tortoises are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, mainly because of the destruction of their habitat and because of poaching. Description Growing to a carapace length of up to 16 in (41 cm) and weighing up to 35 lb (16 kg), the radiated tortoise is considered to be one of the world's most beautiful tortoises. This tortoise has the basic "tortoise" body shape, which consists of the high-domed carapace, a blunt head, and elephantine feet. The legs, feet, and head are yellow except for a variably sized black patch on top of the head. The carapace of the radiated tortoise is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
