Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Southern Africa, east of Mozambique. It has a total area of 587,040 square kilometres (226,660 sq mi) with 581,540 square kilometres (224,530 sq mi) of land and 5,500 square kilometres (2,100 sq mi) of water. Madagascar is the fourth-largest island and the second-largest island country in the world. The highest point is Maromokotro, in the Tsaratanana Massif region in the north of the island, at 2,876 metres (9,436 ft). The capital Antananarivo is in the Central Highlands near the centre of the island. It has the 25th largest exclusive economic zone of 1,225,259 km2 (473,075 sq mi). Madagascar is 400 kilometres east of mainland Africa.
The ecoregions of Madagascar, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund, include seven terrestrial, five freshwater, and two marine ecoregions. Madagascar's diverse natural habitats harbour a rich fauna and flora with high levels of endemism, but most ecoregions suffer from habitat loss.
Toliara is a city in Madagascar.
Kalanchoe daigremontiana, formerly known as Bryophyllum daigremontianum and commonly called mother of thousands, or Mexican hat plant, is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. Like other members of Bryophyllum, it can propagate vegetatively from plantlets that develop on its leaf margins, as well as through upshoots from lateral roots, and seeds. All parts of this species contain a very toxic steroid known as daigremontianin.
The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar. They are found on the western and northwest region of the island, in a band along the coast. The Sakalava are one of the smallest ethnic groups, constituting about 6.2 percent of the total population, that is about 2,079,000 in 2018. Their name means "people of the long valleys." They occupy the western edge of the island from Toliara in the south to the Sambirano River in the north.
The Madagascan big-headed turtle is a turtle native to the waters of permanent slow moving rivers and lakes in western Madagascar. These turtles are critically endangered and have been evaluated to be the most endangered turtle in the world by a 2018 review. Due to its ancient origins and threatened status, it is ranked as #1 on the EDGE of Existence programme's list of priority reptiles.
The pale fork-marked lemur, or western fork-marked lemur, is a species of lemur known from western Madagascar; south of the Fiherenana River to the region of Soalala. It is listed on CITES Appendix I.
Robert Drury was an English sailor on the Degrave who was shipwrecked at the age of 17 on the island of Madagascar. He would be trapped there for fifteen years.
The long-tailed ground roller is a species of bird in the ground roller family Brachypteraciidae, placed in the monotypic genus Uratelornis. Endemic to arid spiny forests near the coast in southwestern Madagascar, this ground roller occurs at extremely low population densities throughout its habitat. This species requires shade and a deep layer of leaves on the ground, and it is absent from parts of the spiny forest lacking these features. It has no recognized subspecies, and its closest relative is the scaly ground roller. The long-tailed ground roller is the only ground roller to definitively display sexual dimorphism. It is a medium-sized bird with a plump silhouette and a long tail. The upperparts are dark brown with black streaks while the underparts are light gray. The white throat is framed by black malar stripes and a black breastband, and a white stripe is present at the base of the bill. Sky-blue feathers are visible at the edge of the wings and the tail. Calls are rarely made outside the breeding season, though multiple courtship calls are made.
Mesitornis is a genus of birds in the family Mesitornithidae. Its two members. the white-breasted mesite and the brown mesite are endemic to Madagascar and both species are classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list of Threatened species. A third species is also called a mesite, is the single member of the genus Monias.
Euphorbia parvicyathophora is a species of plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is endemic to South-West Madagascar. The Euphorbia parvicyathophora typically lives in an environment that is of rocky material; particularly, limestone is its primary locale of habitation. Euphorbia parvicyathophora grows within the soil pockets of cavernous limestone along the southern bank of the Fiherenana river, a river in the southern part of Madagascar, which flows to the Indian Ocean. Euphorbia parvicyathophora is threatened by habitat loss.
Atsimo-Andrefana is a region of Madagascar. It borders Menabe in north, Amoron'i Mania and Haute Matsiatra in northeast, Ihorombe and Anosy in east and Androy in southeast. The capital is Toliara and the population was 1,799,088 in 2018. Atsimo Andrefana is geographically the largest of all Malagasy regions with an area of 66,236 km2 (25,574 sq mi).
Behompy is a rural municipality in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Toliara II, which is a part of Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 7,000 in 2001 commune census.
Belalanda is a rural municipality in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Toliara II, which is a part of Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 7,000 in 2001 commune census.
Maromiandra is a rural municipality in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Toliara II, which is a part of Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 8,000 in 2001.
Mahaboboka is a town and commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Sakaraha, which is a part of Atsimo-Andrefana Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 13,115 in 2018.
Zombitse-Vohibasia is a national park in the Atsimo-Andrefana region of south-west Madagascar. It is 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-east of the town of Toliara on the National road 7.
Oeceoclades angustifolia is a terrestrial orchid species in the genus Oeceoclades that is endemic to southwestern and northern Madagascar. It was first described by the German botanist Karlheinz Senghas in 1966 as Eulophidium angustifolium. When Leslie Andrew Garay and Peter Taylor revised the genus Oeceoclades in 1976, they transferred this species to the expanded Oeceoclades. The type specimen was collected by Werner Rauh near the town of Sakaraha and the Fiherenana River.
Analavelona, also known as Analavelona Massif, is a mountain in southwestern Madagascar. The massif is home to an enclave of montane subhumid forest, which is considered a sacred forest by the local people and notable for its biodiversity.
