Madagascar Dry Forests - A Global Ecoregion
Some of the world's richest tropical dry forests
Snapshot: Ecoregion 51
Size:
151,000 sq. km (58,000 sq. miles)
Habitat type:
Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests
Geographic Location:
Western coast of Madagascar
Conservation Status:
Critical/Endangered
Quiz Time!
Is true that some existing fish species are treated as fossils?
Answer:
Yes! Paddlefish and sturgeon are considered "living fossils" because fossils of this order date from the Jurassic period -195 million to 135 million years before the present.
About the Area
Periods of steady rainfall alternate with drier periods in the areas where Madagascar's dry forests grow. These forests support hundreds of endemic plant and animal species - for example, seven species of baobab trees as compared to only one in all of Africa.
Temperatures remain warm throughout the year. The region is also home to the Angonoka tortoise (Geochelone yniphora), one of the world's most threatened tortoises. Local Species
Selecetd species include the Giant jumping rat (Hypogeomys antimena), Milne-Edwards' sportive lemur (Lepilemur edwardsi), Van Dam vanga (Xenopirostris damii), Appert's greenbul (Phyllastrephus apperti), and the Flat-tailed tortoise (Pyxis planicauda).
Threats
Most of the forest has been cleared for slash-and-burn agriculture, pasture, firewood, or construction materials, as secondary grasslands now cover most of the region. Uncontrolled burning of surrounding degraded savannas is eating away the remaining fragments of forest.
Resources
• NationalGeographic.com
