Why does Madagascar have high biodiversity?

Madagascar was isolated before the evolution of monkeys and other old world primates who replaced the more primitive, ancestral primates of Africa and Asia, meaning Madagascar’s primates (modern lemurs) are the result of a completely unique, endemic adaptive radiation. read more

Scientists have developed the first comprehensive theory to explain Madagascar’s rich biodiversity. Madagascar, larger than California and about size the size of Texas or France, is the world’s fourth largest island. read more

Madagascar is a jewel in biodiversity terms because of its isolation from the major continents. "It split from Africa a long time ago and then subsequently split from the Indian block 80m years ago. It has had 80m years for evolution to have a bit of fun," said Wright. read more