Located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of
southeastern Africa, Madagascar is the world’s fourth-
largest island. Hosting an unusually large number of species
in a relatively tiny area, 1 Madagascar’s biodiversity is its
exceptional feature. This unusual variety is made possible in
part by the island’s geographic features. Covering less than
0.5 percent of the world’s landmass, the island contains
rainforests, mountains, and plains. 2
The vast number of species found in Madagascar stems
from the fact that it has been cut off from other landmasses
for 80 million years. 3 As a result, the island has been an
ideal setting for allopatric speciation, a process in which
geographically isolated populations of the same species
4 evolves independently. Due to the diverse habitats
of Madagascar, many populations have also become
isolated from one another on the island itself, resulting in
further speciation. Over half of the 5 world’s species’ of
chameleons live on Madagascar. The island’s many habitats
have resulted in chameleon species that have a wide
variety of sizes, diets, and camouflages. The world’s largest
and smallest species of chameleon are both found on
Madagascar. The largest, Parson’s chameleon, can be almost
a meter in 6 length. The smallest can sit comfortably on
the head of a match.
Madagascar’s plants are just as diverse as its animals,
with over 12,000 species of plants on the island found
nowhere else on earth. The tallest species of palm tree on
the 7 island, Tahina spectabilis, reaches heights of over 60
feet. Botanists and island residents alike assumed the plants
were unusually tall specimens of another palm species
until they were surprised by one tree’s sudden flowering.
It produced a bizarre-looking shoot that resembled a pine
tree with each branch bearing hundreds of bunches of tiny
white flowers. To date, only about three dozen of these
8 durable trees are known to exist in the wild.
9 This palm tree was among the 600 previously
unknown species discovered on Madagascar in just the first
decade of the twenty-first century. The habitats that these
species call home, though, are under threat. Over 23 million
people live on the island, and the human population is
growing. Most people on the island make their living as
10 a farmer, and they have to cut down forests to create
fields for crops. Some scientists theorize that the larger
forces of climate change are having an effect, too.
Temperatures are rising and rainfall patterns are changing.
Species that have adapted to very specific, small ranges may
now find them unsuitable habitats. 11
southeastern Africa, Madagascar is the world’s fourth-
largest island. Hosting an unusually large number of species
in a relatively tiny area, 1 Madagascar’s biodiversity is its
exceptional feature. This unusual variety is made possible in
part by the island’s geographic features. Covering less than
0.5 percent of the world’s landmass, the island contains
rainforests, mountains, and plains. 2
The vast number of species found in Madagascar stems
from the fact that it has been cut off from other landmasses
for 80 million years. 3 As a result, the island has been an
ideal setting for allopatric speciation, a process in which
geographically isolated populations of the same species
4 evolves independently. Due to the diverse habitats
of Madagascar, many populations have also become
isolated from one another on the island itself, resulting in
further speciation. Over half of the 5 world’s species’ of
chameleons live on Madagascar. The island’s many habitats
have resulted in chameleon species that have a wide
variety of sizes, diets, and camouflages. The world’s largest
and smallest species of chameleon are both found on
Madagascar. The largest, Parson’s chameleon, can be almost
a meter in 6 length. The smallest can sit comfortably on
the head of a match.
Madagascar’s plants are just as diverse as its animals,
with over 12,000 species of plants on the island found
nowhere else on earth. The tallest species of palm tree on
the 7 island, Tahina spectabilis, reaches heights of over 60
feet. Botanists and island residents alike assumed the plants
were unusually tall specimens of another palm species
until they were surprised by one tree’s sudden flowering.
It produced a bizarre-looking shoot that resembled a pine
tree with each branch bearing hundreds of bunches of tiny
white flowers. To date, only about three dozen of these
8 durable trees are known to exist in the wild.
9 This palm tree was among the 600 previously
unknown species discovered on Madagascar in just the first
decade of the twenty-first century. The habitats that these
species call home, though, are under threat. Over 23 million
people live on the island, and the human population is
growing. Most people on the island make their living as
10 a farmer, and they have to cut down forests to create
fields for crops. Some scientists theorize that the larger
forces of climate change are having an effect, too.
Temperatures are rising and rainfall patterns are changing.
Species that have adapted to very specific, small ranges may
now find them unsuitable habitats. 11