Madagascar
Topic: World Physical Features and Natural Regions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Madagascar is the world's fourth-largest island. It lies off the south-east coast of Africa, across the Mozambique Channel. It was once joined to India. It broke away about 88 million years ago and has been cut off ever since. As a result, its plants and animals developed on their own. Most of its wildlife is endemic, which means it is found nowhere else on Earth.
Example
Lemurs are primates that live naturally only in Madagascar. Their only home is the island's forests.
Don't confuse with
- Mauritius: this is a much smaller island country to the east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Madagascar is a large island country of its own.