Portal:Madagascar
Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic, French: République malgache), is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to Madagascar. They include the lemur infraorder of primates, the carnivorous fossa, three bird families and six baobab species. Two thirds of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. As part of East Gondwana, the territory of Madagascar split from Africa approximately 160 million years ago; the island of Madagascar was created when it separated from the Indian subcontinent 80 to 100 million years ago. Most archaeologists estimate that the human settlement of Madagascar happened between 200 and 500 A.D., when seafarers from southeast Asia (probably from Borneo or the southern Celebes) arrived in outrigger sailing canoes. Bantu settlers probably crossed the Mozambique Channel to Madagascar at about the same time or shortly afterwards. However, Malagasy tradition and ethnographic evidence suggests that they may have been preceded by the Mikea hunter gatherers. The Anteimoro who established a kingdom in Southern Madagascar in the Middle Ages trace their origin to migrants from Somalia.Selected panoramaLandscape near Fianarantsoa, Madagascar. Selected article
Mesopropithecus is an extinct genus of small to medium-sized lemur, or strepsirrhine primate, from Madagascar that includes three species, M. dolichobrachion, M. globiceps, and M. pithecoides. Together with Palaeopropithecus, Archaeoindris, and Babakotia, it is part of the sloth lemur family (Palaeopropithecidae). Once thought to be an indriid because its skull is similar to that of living sifakas, a recently discovered postcranial skeleton shows Mesopropithecus had longer forelimbs than hindlimbs—a distinctive trait shared by sloth lemurs but not by indriids. However, as it had the shortest forelimbs of all sloth lemurs, it is thought that Mesopropithecus was more quadrupedal and did not use suspension as much as the other sloth lemurs. They are known only from subfossil remains and died out after the arrival of humans on the island, probably due to hunting pressure and habitat destruction. Mesopropithecus was one of the smallest of the extinct subfossil lemurs, but was still slightly larger than the largest living lemurs. Although rare, the three species were widely distributed across the island yet allopatric to each other, with M. dolichobrachion in the north, M. pithecoides in the south and west, and M. globiceps in the center of the island. All three species were primarily a leaf-eaters. (Read more...) Selected pictureTemplate:/box-header Template:/Did you know Template:/box-footer Template:/box-header Template:/In the news Template:/box-footer Template:/box-header Template:/Categories Template:/box-footer Selected biographyRanavalona III (1861–1917) was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar. Her reign from 1883 to 1897 was marked by ultimately futile efforts to resist the colonial designs of the government of France. She entered into a political marriage with Rainilaiarivony who, in his role as Prime Minister of Madagascar, largely oversaw the day-to-day governance of the kingdom and managed its foreign affairs. Throughout her reign, Ranavalona tried to stave off colonization by strengthening trade and diplomatic relations with the United States and Great Britain. However, French attacks ultimately led to the capture of the royal palace in 1895, ending Madagascar's autonomy. The newly installed French colonial government initially permitted Ranavalona and her court to remain as symbolic figureheads until the outbreak of a popular resistance movement led the French to send her into exile. The queen, her family and the servants accompanying her were provided an allowance and enjoyed a comfortable standard of living, but she was never permitted to return to Madagascar despite her requests. She died at her villa in Algiers at the age of 55; her remains were returned to Madagascar in 1938. Template:/box-header Template:/Topics Template:/box-footer Template:/box-header Template:/Related portals Template:/box-footer The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject:
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