Mammals in Madagascar

Eulemur rufus (Red Lemur)

Geogale aurita (Large-eared Tenrec)

Setifer setosus (Greater Hedgehog Tenrec)

Lemur catta (Ring-tailed Lemur)

Microcebus griseorufus        (Reddish-gray Mouse Lemur)

The mammal fauna of Madagascar is exceptional. As the island is separated from Africa since about 120 million years and from India since 80 million years, all of the known 101 mammal species appear to be endemic. There is no comparable combination of species richness and endemism in the world. This led to a great diversity of body forms and to numerous cases of convergence to continental faunas (Goodman et al. 2003).

21 mammal species have been found on the Mahafaly Plateau, representing:

• 6 primates e.g. the Red Lemur (Eulemur rufus), the Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) or the Reddish-gray Mouse Lemur (Microcebus griseorufus)
• 4 tenrecs e.g. the Large-eared Tenrec (Geogale aurita) or the Greater Hedgehog Tenrec (Setifer setosus)
• 3 rodents
• 6 bats
• 1 carnivore
• 1 insectivore (soricomorpha)

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Go directly to more details about the species diversity on the Mahafaly Plateau by clicking on the animal classes and plants below:

Literature

• S. M. Goodman, J. U. Ganzhorn, D. Rakotondravony (2003). Introduction to the mammals. In: The natural history of Madagascar. S. Goodman, J.P. Benstead (eds). pp. 1159-1165. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago, London.