Plants

About 12,000 plants species (70-80% endemic)

• Plant of Didieraceae - spiny succulent plant mimicking cacti and unique to madagascar

http://www.wildmadagascar.org/flora/

Almost 1000 species of orchid (~90% endemic)

http://www.kew.org/plants/orchids/madagascar.html

http://www.lizasreef.com/HOPE%20FOR%20THE%20RAIN%20FORESTS/endangered_rain_forest_plants.htm
http://photos.wildmadagascar.org/images/orchid0094.shtml

Baobabs "The Tree of Life" - provide food and shelter for human an animals


"There are also numerous superstitions amongst native African people regarding the powers of the tree. Anyone who dares to pick a flower, for instance, will be eaten by a lion. On the other hand, of you drank water in which the seeds have been soaked, you'd be safe from a crocodile attack." (http://www.baobab-solutions.com/the_baobab.htm)

http://www.wayfaring.info/2009/05/13/avenue-of-baobabs/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleighozment/galleries/72157622817579092/

Wildlife

Biodiveristy 


Geography isolation results in highly evolved and diversed organisms

• ~ 200,000 known species  
• ~ 150,000 of them are endemic - that means they are found nowhere else on earth!!

Let the pictures speak for themselves!!

• Madagascar has "only" 258 bird species, although 115 of these are endemic (with 36 endemic genera, Madagascar has more unique genera than any other African country. Madagascar also possesses five endemic families of birds). (wildmadagascar.org)

Sleeping sunbird

Madagascar paradise flycatcher 

Asio madagascariensis owl 

• Famous for being a home for lemurs (a primate that looks like a combination of cat, dog, mouse, and squirrel)
• Little competition and predation so they were able to strive quite easily
• 99 species and subspecies (2008)
• 17 species went extinct because of human colonization since the past 2000 years
• More new species are being discovered
• Highly intelligent and adaptive

Mouse lemur (Microcebus mittermeieri - newly described lemur, 2006)

White-footed lepilemur (Lepilemur leucopus) 

The famous Ring-tailed lemurs paddycake 

Indri lemur in Andasibe 

Sanford's Brown (Eulemur sanfordi) 

Aye aye lemur (said to be one of the most ugliest species)

http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0116-hance_ayeaye.html

• Other animals

Boophis viridis frog at Andasibe 

Mantidactylus asper leaf frog on Nosy Mangabe 

Mantella laevigata 

Ghost Mantis (Phyllocrania paradoxa) 

Pill Millipede Ball 

Leaf mimic insect 

Orange and white thorn spider 

Hemicentetes semispinosus tenrec 

Furcifer balteatus chameleon 

Calumma parsonii chameleon 

Uroplatus fimbriatus gecko on Nosy Mangabe 

Source; http://www.springerlink.com/content/c11g1n6365566u17/

http://www.wildmadagascar.org/wildlife/html