Birds of Madagascar. Strange and rare animals. (There are Foses from Madagascar) Extinct animals of Madagascar

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Madagascar Island: wildlife

The fauna of Madagascar and nearby islands forms an independent Madagascar zoogeographical region, characterized by a large number of mammals, reptiles and insects that live only in this region of the globe. More than half of the representatives of the animal world are endemic: out of 36 species of terrestrial mammals, 32 are endemic, over a third of bird species (52 out of 147) are also found only here.

The most characteristic group of mammals in Madagascar are the semi-monkeys, of which there are 20 species here, that is, more than in the rest of the world combined. They resemble monkeys, but differ from them in short forelimbs, fox muzzle and bulging eyes. Madagascar is the only natural reserve in the world where real lemurs live. This family includes mouse lemur- the smallest representative of primates (12 - 13 cm long), vri (reaching a length of 100 - 115 cm), as well as katta, mongo, etc. These nimble, mobile animals live mainly on trees in family groups, feed on fruits, insects, lead nocturnal lifestyle. Another family, the indri, includes the short-tailed indri, the hairy indri, and the crested indri, or sifak. In addition, there is an outlandish creature with very tenacious forelimbs - an arm.

Rodents are represented by the local subfamily of Madagascar hamsters. More than 10 species of this group occupy the ecological niches of jerboas, gerbils, rats, and dormice. They have an outward resemblance to these animals.

Of the predators in Madagascar, only viverrids live, among which a number of local genera stand out (for example, falanuk and fanaloka) and even two subfamilies - Madagascar fosses and mungos. Fossa reaches a length of 1.5 m and, although half of this value falls on the tail, is biggest predator islands.

Chiroptera are widely represented - bats, flying foxes(bats), as well as the endemic family Madagascar Suckerfoot, attached to the substrate by suckers located on the fore and hind limbs (the closest relatives of this animal live in Central America and in the north of South).

Notable among insectivores are tenrecs, sometimes referred to as bristly hedgehogs. These are tailless animals, covered with wool, bristles and needles interspersed. Smaller ones show similarities with shrews, to which they correspond in size.

Of the ungulates in Madagascar, only one species lives - the bushy-eared pig, but it is assumed that it was brought to the island by man. In the Pliocene and even at the beginning Quaternary period the pygmy hippo lived here.

The bird fauna is also unique. Many groups are endemic, including white-necked crows, red sparrows, black parrots, green doves, blue cuckoos, crested nightingales, and crane-like - Madagascar shepherd partridges (birds the size of thrushes that cannot fly), phileppits, vangos. Once upon a time, epiornis, extinct in historical time (perhaps 150 years ago), lived here - giant ostriches about 3 m high, second only to the New Zealand moa ostriches. They were the heaviest birds that ever lived on Earth (their weight reached 400 kg, the volume of eggs was 9, and sometimes 12 liters, with a length of 34 and a width of 24 cm).

Reptiles are represented extremely widely. One of the largest forms lives in Madagascar nile crocodile. Many turtles, such as spider turtles, 10 cm long, pelomedusa turtles. There are no real lizards, monitor lizards and agamas in Madagascar, only iguanas and geckos are found. There are no poisonous snakes. At the same time, original representatives of the false-legged family, close to South American boas, are found here. The diverse family of chameleons, ranging in length from 4.5 to 60 cm, deserves special mention.

The insect world of Madagascar is very diverse. Unique butterflies are unusually common on the island. big size and various colors. Among them stands out the largest butterfly in the world, found only in this area - a comet; Its wingspan reaches 22 cm.

About 20 species of fish live in rivers and freshwater reservoirs. Warm waters surrounding Madagascar indian ocean rich in various types commercial fish. Here there are coelacanths - fish that were found 400 million years ago in the Devonian ocean. They are the closest of modern animals to the ancestors of terrestrial amphibians and reptiles, birds and mammals, descended from lobe-finned lungfish that settled on land and learned to breathe out of water.

The largest island in the Indian Ocean - Madagascar - is often called by geographers "the mainland in miniature".

This is explained, firstly, by the extraordinary diversity of its landscapes, and secondly, by the peculiar flora and fauna that distinguishes it from nearby Africa and from other parts of the world.

Wet combination rainforest, tall grass savannahs and even semi-deserts, mountain ranges, plateaus and coastal plains, extinct volcanoes and coral reefs, marshy lagoons and mangroves, monsoon and trade winds determine the existence of a wide variety of landscapes on the island, and the animals and plants of Madagascar, three-quarters of which are found only here, they are not at all similar to African ones, and if they have relatives, then usually in Indo-China and Indonesia, and even in South America.

Madagascar is a mountainous country. Almost half of it is occupied by the High Plateau, stretching across the entire island from north to south.

On the east coast, where the trade winds bring moisture from the Indian Ocean, it rains, stormy and plentiful, almost every day. Because of the accompanying them strong wind shower jets are directed almost horizontally, and no umbrellas and awnings can save them.

Strictly speaking, a distinction is made between the wet season and the dry season.

But the latter, which lasts from May to November, differs only in that occasionally there are days without precipitation.

In July, at the height of winter, the thermometer shows plus sixteen, and in February the temperature reaches thirty-four degrees.

Evergreen forests of ferns, tamarinds, palms and others grow on the steep slopes of the plateau. tropical trees entwined with vines and decorated with bright orchids.

There are many valuable species of trees in these forests. At different types rosewood, for example, wood is purple, pink and even black. There are also rubber plants here. And lacquer is made from the resin of the copal tree.

But of all Madagascar trees, the most famous is the equal.

In appearance, it looks like a banana, only the banana leaves grow directly from the ground, and the Ravenala has a real trunk, from the top of which diverge, like the spokes of a wheel, huge leaves, torn by the wind along the edges.

Where the leaf cuttings are going to the trunk, there are special containers containing several liters of water.

Having met a revenant, a tired traveler can always quench his thirst. No wonder it is also called the "tree of travelers".

Creepers of Madagascar are unique. The pod of one of them, the entada creeper, reaches two meters in length and one and a half in width!

Several of these pods, split in half, make an excellent roof for a hut. They make ropes from vines, weave baskets and mats.

And from some, especially strong ones, they build houses, since they are the only plants on the island that termites do not touch.

In the west, where the mountains do not let rain clouds through, the savannah reigns, and in some places, in the south, it is a hot semi-desert, since precipitation here is rare and falls only in winter.

In the dry season, not a drop of moisture spills for months, and the temperature rises to forty degrees!

Forests in the west are found only in river valleys, and the savannah is overgrown with brush-hard grass, and only in some places small baobabs and fan palms rise.

Trees in the western part of the island shed their leaves for the winter so as not to evaporate moisture during the dry season.

The fauna of Madagascar in its originality can only be compared with the Australian one.

The main treasure of the fauna of the island is, of course, lemurs.

These funny animals, resembling a cross between a monkey and a cat, live in forests and are nocturnal.

They have large, glowing eyes and a piercing voice, reminiscent of the whimsical cry of a child.

The largest of the lemurs are the indri.

They are easily tamed, and the inhabitants of the island - the Malagasy - often use them for hunting instead of dogs.

Another genus of lemurs with a fox head and a long tail is the maquis.

They are very lively and mobile, stay in flocks and are often seen in the evenings when they jump through the trees in search of tasty fruits.

The complete opposite of them is the fat loris.

This clumsy and clumsy baby is slow, like an Australian koala.

Also interesting is the ah-ah, or the little arm, - an evil flat-headed lemur with huge ears and the longest tail.

He lives in bamboo forests, feeds on the core of bamboo and sugar cane, and also does not disdain beetles and larvae.

With its long fingers, the aye-aye easily extracts the contents from the trunks of bamboo and reeds. This gourmet is very afraid of the light. As soon as the sun rises, he falls asleep with his head between his legs and wrapped around it with his long tail.

The Malgash consider lemurs to be sacred animals. There is a legend that once upon a time they were people, and then, living in the forest, overgrown with wool and turned into animals.

When meeting a lemur in the forest, the hunters always politely greet him, and the animals that accidentally fell into a trap will certainly be released and released into the wild.

Of the predators on the island, only the reddish-black fossa is found - the ferret cat.

It is about the size of a large dog, but is small in stature, since its paws are short.

Malgasi are very afraid of fossa. There are many legends and hunting stories about her bloodthirstiness and strength.

It is found in Madagascar and the mongoose is the main exterminator of snakes.

And in mountain forests live fearful and timid eared hedgehogs- tenrecs (lat. Tenrecidae).

These rather large (from a rabbit) animals come out of their holes only at dusk and busily begin to look for food - small insects.

In winter they hibernate.

The Madagascar bird world is bright and unusual.

Green parrots, bright red cardinals, blue doves and sultan chickens, ibises and guinea fowls are found here.

Once upon a time, huge, similar to giant cassowaries, epiornis birds lived on the island.

The growth of these giants reached five meters! They died out quite recently, since Marco Polo mentioned them in his book. And later, in the 18th century, sailors who sailed to the island heard the cries of these birds.

The giant epiornis egg was 150 ostrich eggs in volume. The Malgash used them to make vessels that could hold eight liters of water.

There are no poisonous snakes in Madagascar, and the only truly dangerous animals here are crocodiles. They literally teem with swamps and lakes of the island.

And among European collectors, the amazingly beautiful butterflies of Madagascar enjoy special respect.

Goliath - the largest of them - is not difficult to mistake for a bird.

This is a brown butterfly with a pink belly. Surprisingly picturesque Urania, rightly considered the most beautiful butterfly in the world.

Her wings shimmer, it seems, with all possible colors. The Madagascaria butterfly also strikes with a bizarre pattern on the wings.

There are a lot of chameleons of various sizes on the island.

Because of their unattractive appearance, the Malagasy consider them vicious and harmful creatures, although in fact they are of great benefit, exterminating flies and other annoying insects.

The chameleon, in fact, is a relative of lizards, but nature has clearly deprived him of agility.

Sometimes it seems that it is not blood in his veins, but carpentry glue - his movements are so viscous and slow.

And only the tongue of the chameleon is thrown forward with lightning speed when the prey is within reach.

The chameleon is known primarily for its extraordinary ability to change color to match the color of the surrounding background, which makes it completely invisible in the forest.

Unusual animals and plants of Madagascar are widely known, but there is an amazing place in the west, about the nature of which even the inhabitants of the island themselves know little.

This is the Bemaraha Plateau, located in the Manambolo River basin near the coast of the Mozambique Channel. Everything is amazing here: a fantastic relief, animals and plants, perhaps the last untouched corner has been preserved here. wildlife Madagascar.

The limestone plateau of Bemaraha rises 400 meters above the Manambolo Valley. The river cut through it a grandiose gorge with white layered walls. And around the gorge stretched ... stone forest!

The rocky ridges - karrs, fancifully carved by karst processes - bristled with thousands of sharp peaks, between which the water made deep cracks, and turned each boulder into a sharp jagged sword.

A huge rocky labyrinth is almost impassable: limestone towers and walls overgrown with thorns formed a network of natural bastions throughout the plateau, reliably protecting it from aliens.

The Bemaraha region is poor in precipitation: the dry season here lasts up to eight months. And in the fissured limestones, even the moisture brought by rare rains quickly sinks into the depths, so that only plants well adapted to drought can survive here.

An ebony tree, for example, turns green only during the rainy season, and the rest of the time it stands bare, saving water.

And the baobab, on the contrary, accumulates water in its clumsy and powerful trunk, up to nine meters in thickness, and thanks to this it survives in the dry season.

Bizarre creatures inhabit the stone forest of Bemaraha.

It is an armored chameleon resembling a small dragon or dinosaur with its prickly spines on its spine and spiky bumps on its head.

There is also a kind of Madagascar rat with big ears.

If you do not notice the long tail, it may well be mistaken for a rabbit.

And on the trees that have grown in the crevices of the rocks, the arms and poppies live, enlivening the desert rocky landscape with their funny jumps and piercing screams.

Groups of remnant rocks formed by karst processes are also found in other places in the world, for example, in the Chinese region of Qingling or in Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.

But there these limestone pillars and towers always have a rounded or flat top. And only here, in Madagascar, such an amazing pointed stone forest arose.

The attractiveness of this corner lies also in the fact that not a single person has yet visited the depths of the plateau, and one can only guess what discoveries await scientists there.

The nature of Madagascar still holds many secrets that will be revealed only to inquisitive travelers who have managed to overcome all the difficulties that the pioneers of the mountains, jungles and mysterious rocky labyrinths of this unique island face.

SCHELEZUB- a mammal from the order of insectivores, divided into two main species: the Cuban flint tooth and the Haitian. A relatively large animal compared to other types of insectivores: its length is 32 centimeters, and its tail, on average, 25 cm, the weight of the animal is about 1 kilogram, and its body is dense.

MANED WOLF

Lives in South America. Long legs wolves are the result of evolution in matters of adaptation to the habitat, they help the animal overcome obstacles in the form of tall grass growing on the plains.

AFRICAN CIVETT

The only representative of the same genus. These animals live in Africa in open spaces with high grass from Senegal to Somalia, southern Namibia and eastern regions. South Africa. The dimensions of the animal can visually increase quite strongly when the civet raises its hair when excited. And her fur is thick and long, especially on the back closer to the tail. The paws, muzzle and end of the tail are completely black, most of the body is spotty-striped.

MUSKRAT

The animal is quite famous, thanks to its sonorous name. It's just a good photo.

PROEKHIDNA

This miracle of nature usually weighs up to 10 kg, although larger specimens have also been noted. By the way, the length of the body of the prochidna reaches 77 cm, and this is not counting their cute five to seven centimeter tail. Any description of this animal is based on comparison with the echidna: the paws of the echidna are higher, the claws are more powerful. Another feature of the appearance of the prochidna is the spurs on the hind legs of males and the five-fingered hind limbs and the three-fingered forelimbs.

CAPIBARA

Semi-aquatic mammal, the largest of modern rodents. It is the only representative of the capybara family (Hydrochoeridae). There is a dwarf variety of Hydrochoerus isthmius, sometimes considered as a separate species (capybara).

SEA CUCUMBER. Holothuria

sea ​​pods, sea ​​cucumbers(Holothuroidea), a class of invertebrates of the echinoderm type. Species eaten are collectively called "trepang".

PANGOLIN

This post just couldn't do without it.

HELL VAMPIRE

Mollusk. Despite its obvious similarity with the octopus and squid, scientists have identified this mollusk in a separate order Vampyromorphida (Latin), because as soon as it has retractable sensitive bee-shaped filaments.

AARDVARK

In Africa, these mammals are called aardvark, which means "earth pig" in Russian. In fact, the aardvark in appearance very much resembles a pig, only with an elongated muzzle. The ears of this amazing animal are very similar in structure to those of a hare. There is also a muscular tail, which is very similar to the tail of such an animal as a kangaroo.

JAPANESE GIANT SALAMANDRA

To date, this is the largest amphibian that can reach 160 cm in length, weigh up to 180 kg and can live up to 150 years, although the officially registered maximum age giant salamander is 55 years old.

BEARDED PIG

In different sources, the bearded pig species is divided into two or three subspecies. These are the curly-haired bearded pig (Sus barbatus oi), which lives on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra, the Bornean bearded pig (Sus barbatus barbatus) and the Palawan bearded pig, which, judging by the name, live on the islands of Borneo and Palawan, as well as in Java , Kalimantan and the small islands of the Indonesian archipelago in South-East Asia.

SUMATRAN RHINO

They belong to the equine-hoofed animals of the rhinoceros family. This species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the entire family. The body length of an adult Sumatran rhinoceros can reach 200 - 280 cm, and the height at the withers can vary from 100 to 150 cm. Such rhinos can weigh up to 1000 kg.

SULAWESI BEAR CUSCOUS

An arboreal marsupial living in the upper tier of lowland tropical forests. The coat of the bear couscous consists of a soft undercoat and coarse guard hairs. Color ranges from gray to brown, with a lighter belly and limbs, and varies with geographical subspecies and age of the animal. The prehensile, hairless tail is about half the length of the animal and acts as a fifth limb, which makes it easier to move through the dense rainforest. Bear couscous is the most primitive of all couscous, retaining primitive tooth growth and skull features.

GALAGO

Its large fluffy tail is clearly comparable to that of a squirrel. And the charming muzzle and graceful movements, flexibility and insinuation, clearly reflect his feline trait. The amazing jumping ability, mobility, strength and incredible agility of this animal clearly show its nature as a funny cat and elusive squirrel. Of course, it would be where to use their talents, because a cramped cage is very poorly suited for this. But, if you give this little animal a little freedom and sometimes allow him to walk around the apartment, then all his quirks and talents will come true. Many even compare it to a kangaroo.

WOMBAT

Without a photograph of a wombat, it is generally impossible to talk about strange and rare animals.

AMAZONIAN DOLPHIN

It is the largest river dolphin. Inia geoffrensis, as scientists call it, reaches 2.5 meters in length and weighs 2 centners. Light gray juveniles lighten with age. The body of the Amazonian dolphin is full, with a thin tail and a narrow muzzle. A round forehead, a slightly curved beak and small eyes are the features of this species of dolphins. There is an Amazonian dolphin in the rivers and lakes of Latin America.

FISH-MOON or MOLA-MOLA

This fish can be over three meters long and weigh about one and a half tons. The largest specimen of the moonfish was caught in New Hampshire, USA. Its length was five and a half meters, data on weight are not available. In shape, the body of the fish resembles a disk, it was this feature that gave rise to the Latin name. The moonfish has thicker skin. It is elastic, and its surface is covered with small bony protrusions. Fish larvae of this species and young individuals swim in the usual way. adults big fish swim on their side, quietly moving their fins. They seem to lie on the surface of the water, where they are very easy to notice and catch. However, many experts believe that only sick fish swim in this way. As an argument, they cite the fact that the stomach of fish caught on the surface is usually empty.

TASMANIAN DEVIL

Being the largest of modern predatory marsupials, this animal is black in color with white spots on the chest and rump, with a huge mouth and sharp teeth, has a dense physique and severe disposition, for which, in fact, it was called the devil. Emitting ominous cries at night, the massive and clumsy Tasmanian devil outwardly resembles a small bear: the front legs are slightly longer than the hind legs, the head is large, and the muzzle is blunted.

LORI

A characteristic feature of the loris is the large size of the eyes, which can be bordered by dark circles, there is a white dividing strip between the eyes. The muzzle of a lory can be compared to a clown mask. This most likely explains the name of the animal: Loeris means "clown" in translation.

GAVIAL

Of course, one of the representatives of the detachment of crocodiles. With age, the muzzle of the gharial becomes even narrower and longer. Due to the fact that the gharial feeds on fish, its teeth are long and sharp, located with a slight inclination for the convenience of eating.

OKAPI. FOREST GIRAFFE

Traveling through Central Africa, journalist and explorer of Africa Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) more than once encountered local natives. Having once met an expedition equipped with horses, the natives of the Congo told the famous traveler that they had wild animals in the jungle, very similar to his horses. The Englishman, who had seen a lot, was somewhat puzzled by this fact. After some negotiations in 1900, the British were finally able to purchase parts of the skin of a mysterious beast from the local population and send them to the Royal Zoological Society in London, where they gave the unknown animal the name "Johnston's Horse" (Equus johnstoni), that is, they identified it as a member of the horse family. . But what was their surprise when, a year later, they managed to get a whole skin and two skulls of an unknown animal, and discover that It looked more like pygmy giraffe times ice age. Only in 1909 was it possible to catch a live specimen of Okapi.

VALABY. WOOD KANGAROO

To the genus Tree kangaroo - wallaby (Dendrolagus) include 6 species. Of these, D. Inustus or bear wallaby, D. Matschiei or Matchish wallaby, which has a subspecies D. Goodfellowi (Goodfellow wallaby), D. Dorianus - Doria wallaby, live in New Guinea. In Australian Queensland, there are D. Lumholtzi - Lumholtz's wallaby (bungari), D. Bennettianus - Bennett's wallaby, or tharibina. Their original habitat was New Guinea, but now wallabies are also found in Australia. Tree kangaroos live in tropical forests mountainous areas, at an altitude of 450 to 3000m. above sea level. The body size of the animal is 52-81 cm, the tail is from 42 to 93 cm long. Wallabies weigh, depending on the species, from 7.7 to 10 kg males and from 6.7 to 8.9 kg. females.

WOLVERINE

Moves quickly and dexterously. The animal has an elongated muzzle, a large head, with rounded ears. The jaws are powerful, the teeth are sharp. Wolverine is a "big-legged" beast, the feet are disproportionate to the body, but their size allows you to freely move through the deep snow cover. Each paw has huge and curved claws. Wolverine climbs trees beautifully, has acute vision. The voice is like a fox.

FOSS

On the island of Madagascar, such animals have been preserved that are not found not only in Africa itself, but throughout the rest of the world. One of the rarest animals is Fossa - the only representative of the genus Cryptoprocta and the largest predatory mammal living on the island of Madagascar. The appearance of the fossa is a bit unusual: it is a cross between a civet and a small cougar. Sometimes the fossa is also called the Madagascar lion, since the ancestors of this animal were much larger and reached the size of a lion. Fossa has a squat, massive and slightly elongated body, the length of which can reach up to 80 cm (on average it is 65-70 cm). The legs of the fossa are long, but thick enough, with the hind legs higher than the front ones. The tail is often equal to the length of the body and reaches 65 cm.

MANUL

approves of this post and is only here because it should be. Everyone knows him.

FENEC. STEPPE FOX

He agrees with the manula and is present here in so far as. After all, everyone saw him.

THE NAKED DIGGER

puts the manula and the fennec fox in karma and invites them to organize a club of the most feared animals in Runet.

PALM THIEF

A representative of the decapod crustaceans. Which habitat is the western part of the Pacific Ocean and the tropical islands of the Indian Ocean. This animal from the family of land crayfish is quite large for its species. The body of an adult individual reaches a size of up to 32 cm and a weight of up to 3-4 kg. For a long time, it was erroneously believed that with its claws, it can even crack coconuts, which it then eats. To date, scientists have proven that cancer can only eat already split coconuts. They, being its main source of nutrition, gave the name palm thief. Although he is not averse to eating other types of food - the fruits of Pandanus plants, organic matter from the soil, and even their own kind.

The name of this fish in Latin sounds too boring, because it is easier to call it

FISH WITH TRANSPARENT HEAD

She has a transparent head through which she can see with her tubular eyes. The head through which the fish watches prey helps protect the eyes. First opened in 1939. Lives on significantly great depth and therefore has not been fully explored. In particular, the principle of fish vision was not entirely clear. It was believed that she must experience very great difficulties in view of the fact that she can only look up. Only in 2009 was the structure of the eye of this fish fully studied. Apparently, when trying to study it earlier, the fish simply could not stand the change in pressure.

ECHIDNA

Well, that's all.

RED PANDA

red panda today natural environment habitats can only be found in the mountain bamboo forests of the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, in the north of Burma, in Bhutan, Nepal and in northeast India.

SIFACA

Monkey of the indriev family. A relatively new genus of primates, discovered only in 2004. Silky sifakas live in the eastern part of the island of Madagascar. The range is approximately 2.2 thousand square meters. km. The distribution area is limited in the north of the skeleton by the Marojejy Massif region, and in the south it reaches Anjanahari. Adult individuals have a body length with a head from 45 to 55 cm, a tail 45-51 cm long. Weight 5-6.5 kg.

SLOTH

A very interesting species of mammals, which has a number of distinguishing features which make it unlike any other existing species. It lives mainly in Central and South America.

PLATYPUS

Basically, known to everyone. But this photo deserves attention...

ANT-EATER

It won't surprise anyone either. But the frame is great...

TARSIER

A small mammal from the order of primates, whose very specific appearance created a somewhat ominous halo around this small animal weighing up to one hundred and sixty grams. So, indigenous people Indonesia and the Philippine Islands were connected by an absurd appearance tarsiers with tricks of evil spirits. However, many of our contemporaries, who first see the tarsier in its native habitat, remain amazed at its non-standard appearance.

MARGAY

From the "relatives" of these wild cats distinguish the size and proportions of the body, as well as lifestyle. So, for example, the margay is very similar to its closest relative, the ocelot, which, moreover, is quite often found in the same place where the margay lives. It is not difficult to distinguish between these cats - the ocelot is noticeably larger, because it prefers to hunt on the ground, and the margay has more long paws and tail, due to life mainly on trees.

SLUD JUMPER

Found in areas intertidal zone and in areas like tropical swamps that form in places where mangrove. Especially mudskippers like to settle in places where fresh water meets with the sea. And although from a scientific point of view they are fish, many perceive them as amphibians. Well, in a sense, it is.

HERBIVORE DRACULA

Bats ("Sphaeronycteris toxophyllum" lat.) This species lives in the north of South America (Amazon basin and mountains). These bats, oddly enough, are herbivores.

BELTTAIL

The habitat of belttails extends to the rocky regions of Africa, which have an arid climate, mainly on the south side of the Sahara desert. In addition, belttails live in a certain amount on the island of Madagascar. There are more than forty species of belttails in the world. The sizes of the belttails are quite different and range from 12 to 70 centimeters in length. The entire body of the girdletail is covered with rectangular plates - scales that cover the bone base of the reptile.

I think it's modest.

PURPLE FROG

Some animals have managed to adapt to these, at first glance, very difficult conditions and have even learned to benefit from the change of seasons. Here is the indigenous inhabitant of India, the purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis), which as a species was discovered quite recently - in 2003, uses the monsoon time to good use - to continue its kind.

ISOPOD

Giant woodlice isopods about 30 cm long live on sea ​​depths about 1.6 km.

SUNNY BEAR

The Malayan biruang bear, or, as it is also called due to its characteristic color, the sun or honey bear, lives in India, Myanmar, as well as on the islands of Borneo, Java and Sumatra. It is of great interest to both zoologists and wildlife lovers, as this species is one of the smallest, most aggressive and smallest representatives of the entire bear family. By the way, it was precisely the threatening small number of this genus that caused the Biruangs to be included in the Red Book.

An adult sun bear has a very difficult character. However, quite a lot of interest in his person is caused not at all by his place of residence, and not by his character, but by his stunning appearance, which immediately catches the eye from any photograph.

TIBETAN FOX

Found in Tibet in northwestern India and northern Nepal at high altitudes.

JELLYFISH

Just giant jellyfish.

GOLDEN TIGER

That is what tigers with a similar color are called. The reason for the unusual color is that one of the genes did not work. Count like an albino...

AY-AY. ARMY

The Madagascar arm or ah-ah, a mammal of the semi-monkey suborder; the only representative of the family of rukonoki. Body length 40 cm, tail 60 cm. The head is large, the muzzle is short; ears are large, leathery. The tail is fluffy. Fur color is dark brown to black.

GUIDAK

Large gastropod weighing up to one and a half kilograms. Found off the west coast of the United States. From under the thin fragile shell of the guidac (about 20 cm long) a “leg” protrudes, which is three times larger than the shell. English name this mollusk (geoduck, gweduck) appeared in late XIX century, is derived from the name of these mollusks in the language of the Niscual Indians (which is why it is pronounced "guidac") and means "digging deep" - these mollusks really dig quite deep into the sand.

MASSAGED WOLF

It is an extinct marsupial mammal and the only representative of the thylacine family. This animal is also known as marsupial tiger' and 'Tasmanian wolf'. At the beginning of the Holocene and the end of the Pleistocene, the marsupial wolf was found on the Australian mainland and the island of New Guinea. About 3,000 years ago, aboriginal settlers brought the wild dog dingo to the island, as a result of which the marsupial wolf disappeared from the area. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. Tasmania was considered the main habitat of the marsupial wolf, but in the thirties of the XIX century, the mass extermination of the animal began, which was mistakenly considered the destroyer of domestic sheep. In addition, the thylacine was credited with hunting poultry and exterminating game caught in traps. Most of these legends turned out to be untrue.

STAR CARRIER

An insectivorous mammal of the mole family. Outwardly, the stellate differs from the rest of the family and from other small animals only in its characteristic structure of the stigma in the form of a rosette or a star of 22 soft, fleshy, mobile bare rays. In size, spade-shaped forelimbs, thick velvety fur (black or dark brown) it is similar to the European mole.

When, in 1658, Admiral Étienne de Flacourt published The History of the Big Island Madagascar”, which summed up his long stay in this corner of the Earth, it contained a lot of the most incredible information, perceived as fables of travelers, and their veracity was established only after centuries.

Speaking of birds "inhabiting the forests", Flacourt, for example, wrote: "Vurupatra - big bird who lives in Ampatra lays her eggs like an ostrich in the most deserted places.

After Flacur, other travelers wrote about the huge bird, and they too were called dreamers. And she also laid eggs, larger than those that "produce" ostriches, and the locals used them as dishes.

Here is what Ferdinand von Hochstacker writes:

“Madagascarians came to Mauritius to buy rum. The container they brought with them was egg shells, eight times larger than ostrich ones, and 135 times larger than chicken ones; they held more than 9 liters. They said that these eggs are sometimes found in desert areas, and birds are occasionally seen.

It is clear that all this was perceived as anecdotes. If an ostrich 2 meters 50 centimeters high was considered a giant monster bird, then what can we say about a giant who laid eggs eight times larger than an ostrich?

As Orientalists believed, these rumors were nothing more than an echo of the legend of the Rukh bird from the tales of the Thousand and One Nights, scary creature, which has earned a dubious reputation among Arab sailors. She is so huge, they said about her, that when she appeared in the sky, a shadow appeared: the wings covered the sun. And she is so strong that she can grab an elephant and lift it into the air, and impale several animals on the horn at once. It used to be that she carried away entire ships with crews ...

During his second journey, Sinbad the Sailor met this bird after he found the egg. It was 50 paces wide!

When Herodotus wrote about giant African birds, their sizes seemed more modest: the Egyptian priests told him about a race of flying giants who lived on the other side of the source of the Nile, and they had the power to lift a person. Recall that the largest eagle is able to lift a creature no larger than a rabbit ...

Marco Polo in the fourteenth century from the lips of Kublai Khan heard echoes of the same tale. The Asiatic ruler showed him the feathers of a bird “about 20 meters long” and two eggs of considerable size. And he added that Rock comes from the island of Madagascar on the south side.

Thus, the stories about the Rukhh bird and the Malagash legends coincided in time and space. But it seemed incredible that a bird weighing several hundred kilograms could take to the air. But it was believed that if a bird - must certainly be able to fly. And the bird Rock, she is a vurupatra, was declared a fable.

epiornis eggs

Years passed, and in 1834 the French traveler Goudeau picked up halves of shells of incredible size on the island, serving as bottles for local residents. He made a drawing and sent it in 1840 to Paris ornithologist Jules Verro. He, based on the appearance of the egg alone, called the bird that laid it, epiornis, "big bird."

A few years later, this name, which initially aroused suspicion, was legalized when Dumarel saw a whole egg in the vicinity of Diego Suarez in 1848. "It held 13 bottles of liquid."

And in 1851, it was finally officially recognized that giant birds were found on the island: the captain of the merchant ship Malavois brought two eggs 32 centimeters long and 22 wide to the Paris Museum. They mixed in about eight liters (8 ostrich and 140 chicken eggs). From one such testicle you can make an omelette for 70 people.

A few years later, the famous traveler Alfred Grandidier took out of the swamps of Ambalistra an indeterminate type of bones that, at first glance, belonged to some thick-skinned man. But studies have shown that these are bird bones ("elephant birds"). To be honest, ornithologists were not very surprised, because a few years before that, R. Owen described moa from bone remains from New Zealand. Based on the available material, Isidore Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire described the species Aepyornis maximus.

In fact, epiornis is not at all larger than a moa in height (a moa's height is 2 meters 50 centimeters). The Paris Museum has a restored epiornis skeleton - 2.68 meters. But this is a very big increase.

epiornis eggs

To be honest, there is no direct connection between the growth of a bird and its egg. Remember the kiwi from New Zealand: its eggs are comparable to ostriches, and the bird itself is no larger than a chicken. And by weight, the following data are obtained: 440 kilograms for the largest epiornis and 329 for medium-sized moas.

When do giants disappear?

A study of the epiornis bones showed that, unlike the legendary Ruhh, this - real - bird could not fly. Like other keeled birds, its relatives are cassowary, moa, emu ... Their wings were underdeveloped.

But did Flacur designate the same bird under the name vurupatra? Eggs that were found in the sand in the dunes of the south and southeast, or in the mud of the swamps, were suspiciously fresh, as if they had just been laid. And the bones didn't look like fossils...

They began to question the residents. They answered that birds are found in the remote corners of the island, but they see them very, very rarely. But naturalists, still under the influence of Cuvier, do not want to believe this, so no one today not only searched for the bird, but also did not study the reasons for its disappearance.

Epiornis skull

One thing is clear: a person could not be the only cause of her death, in contrast to the story with moa vurupatru, or vorompatru, they were not exterminated for the sake of meat. There is not a word about this in the legends (and the Maori were happy to talk about hunting moa with simple stone-tipped pikes).

In an attempt to explain the death of epiornis, they reached asphyxiation caused by gas releases in certain areas of the island. But isn't it too difficult? Most likely, the matter is in the habitats themselves. The climate changed, man drained the swamps, the last refuges disappeared.

Giant swamps dried up in the highlands of Antsirabe and Betafo. Epiornis climbed further and further into the bogs and died there, not finding food. This is proved by their remains found in peat bogs. It is clear that man hastened the end of the vorompatra, it survived until recent times, until 1862 (when the inhabitants clearly saw it), not reaching quite a bit to our days.

Other giants of Madagascar

Various factors contributed to the death of not only epiornis, but also other species, such as Mullerornis, the giant cassowary of the Ankaratra region, centornis and many others. But isn't it too early to bury them?

As well as on the neighboring islands - Seychelles and Mascarene - there was a giant tortoise Testudo grandidieri weighing up to one ton. She apparently fell victim to the drought. But according to Raymond Decary, an expert on the fauna of Madagascar, the extermination of the tortoise was not widespread.

“There are rumors about the presence in some caves of the southwest mysterious creature, which may turn out to be a giant tortoise - are we talking about last representatives testudo grandidieri? the zoologist writes.

shell Turtles Testudo grandidieri

Another view: giant crocodiles were found in Madagascar, the skull of which reached 80 centimeters in width. There is evidence that they are still here.

The total drainage of swamps led to the disappearance of hippos on the island. Previously, there were giants reminiscent of the Pleistocene hippos of Africa. Was it not about them that the great wanderer Dumont d'Urville wrote in 1829 in the book "Traveling Around the World" when he sailed along the Madagascar rivers?

On the other hand, there is an assumption that it was the hippopotamus, or rather, its image, transformed by the legend, that served as the basis for the myth of tsogombi or ombirano - a water bull, half-mule, half-horse with a hump.

If a we are talking about the hippopotamus, it has changed a lot in the legends, because the tsogombi had huge hanging ears. In addition, he was "gifted" with a cry that terrifies anyone, as well as aggressive cannibalistic habits. The Mahafali and Anthrandon tribes, according to R. Dekari, attribute eggs to him, which actually belonged to epiornis.

There are also rumors about railalomena, which means "father or ancestor of the hippopotamus." He supposedly lives in swamps, and has a horn in his forehead. All this is very reminiscent of the famous "Dinosaur from the Congo" ( ). Maybe the Bantu invaders who appeared here brought with them descriptions of a mysterious creature from the continent.

Both hypotheses have a right to exist, and in both cases there is a resemblance to the Congolese reptile - the body of a hippo, horn, hanging ears (which in fact may be fleshy growths on the edges of the head and are visible on the dragon from the portico of Ishtar), egg production, talking about a reptile , swamp habitat, aggressive nature and, finally, wild cries.

If this creature lived in Madagascar, then it certainly could have been one of the first victims of the drying up of swamps and lakes. Unless, of course, it's a giant tortoise. Or a crocodile guest performer from the continent...

Tretretretre and the man with the dog's head

Madagascar is called the land of semi-fossil animals. No other island can be such a showcase ancient history. The remains of animals, birds, reptiles often turn out to be so fresh that many people wonder: are their "owners" alive?

Often legends and oral traditions claim that people knew them until relatively recently. Let us recall Gennep's principle, according to which memories of events are lost in two centuries where there is no oral tradition. Therefore, the interest in the memories of travelers is so great.

Flacourt, in addition to epiornis, wrote about another mysterious animal: “Tretretretra, or tratratratra, the size of a bull and with a human face. It is reminiscent of the Tanakht of Ambroise Pare. It is a solitary animal, and the inhabitants of that country are afraid of it and flee from it...”

The first reaction of naturalists of that time was, of course, unequivocal - a myth. Nothing like this has ever lived in Madagascar, and there have never been real monkeys there. Moreover, such amazing view. So, someone repeated the naive fables of Marco Polo and Ctesias?

The first camouflage was removed when the indri (Indris brevicaudatus), the largest living lemur, fitting the description of a "dog-headed man" was discovered. He is about a meter high, almost without a tail (stump), often stands on his hind legs, being on the ground, surprisingly reminiscent of a man. Its elongated muzzle looks more like a fox than a dog.

Looking at him, you understand why the members of the Betsimaraka clan both killed him and deified him, calling him babakoto (father-child), considering him a descendant of a man who retired to the forests. We add that all lemurs for the Malagasy are fadi (taboo), because it is believed that this is another incarnation of man.

And at the end of the 19th century, the remains of a huge fossil lemur, which was called megaladapis, were found in Madagascar. The growth of an adult megaladapis was comparable to the growth of a short person, the weight was presumably up to 70 kilograms (for Edwards megaladapis even up to 200 kilograms).

It is believed that megaladapis died out as early as the 10th millennium BC, but there are radiocarbon datings according to which Edwards' megaladapis still lived in Madagascar by the time the Europeans arrived there in 1504.

Megaladapis

In the same years, the remains of Paleopropithecus were discovered in Madagascar. Paleopropithecus is a genus of subfossil lemurs that lived in Madagascar from the Pleistocene to historical time. Paleopropitecus were also large primates, weighing from 40 to 55 kilograms.

Paleopropithecus definitely lived in Madagascar at the time of the appearance of man there (the latest remains from the Ankiliteo deposit, according to radiocarbon dating, date back to the 14th-15th centuries new era). They could also be what was called tretretretre.

The fading heart of Gondwana

Logically, one could look for the same part of Gondwana in Madagascar as on the African continent. In fact, the island is not an African zoological province. Malgashian animals are characterized, on the one hand, by the originality of their forms, and, on the other hand, they are related to the forms of South America and the Indo-Malay region.

Among the typical forms of Madagascar are lemurs, which differ from other primates in a number of anatomical features. It was for this appearance that scientists gave them the name "lemurs", as the Romans called the phantoms of dead people. But lemurs live not only in Madagascar. Some are common in Africa - galago, potto and angwantibo, and in Malaysia - lorises and slow lorises.

But in Madagascar live forms completely unknown in Africa. Moreover, they are known in... the Antilles! And in South America. This whole cocktail is explained by the presence of the once huge continent of Gondwana.

The study of the fossil remains of lemurs showed that even in a recent era there were a great many of them. Magaladapis were real rhinos that climbed trees. They did this despite their size, thanks to tenacious fingers. And there were many others. And looking at them, you think that Flacur's descriptions do not seem so fantastic.

Who is tocandia - a "four-legged jumper" that lives in trees and makes human sounds? And who are the Colonoros, the Malgash gnomes?

“All tribes,” writes Dekari, “believe in some kind of our dwarfs, brownies and gnomes. Their names change by region: bibialona, ​​kotokeli, and so on. Colonoro is something like an amphibian. On Lake Alkatra they live like sirens or mermaids with long fluffy hair, live in the water, stretch their hands to pies, grab children.

According to betsileo beliefs, the colonoro, on the contrary, is a land creature two cubits high, covered long hair, he has a wife named kotokeli, lives in caves. She steals children from people and replaces them with her own.

In the Kinkong Lake area, the Sakalawa have a different concept of colonoro. This is a male creature that lives along the banks of ponds. Dimensions are less than a metre. He has a sweet female voice, eats fish, walks around the neighborhood in the evenings. Meets a person, speaks to him and lures him into a pond.

Strange legends spread throughout the island, fresh bones found in the southwest, and the conditions of their occurrence indicate that the hadropithecus (another ancient view lemurs) could survive until recent eras in the region of Bara, Ankazoabo.

Many areas of Madagascar are still completely unexplored, and giant lemurs could survive on these million hectares of forest. Remember the okapi - he lived incognito for a long time.

In 1500, thanks to pure chance, the island of Madagascar was discovered. The team of the Portuguese navigator Diogo Dias was caught in a storm that forced them to land on the only land nearby. Thus, an island with extraordinary nature and rich fauna was discovered.

Unique island

Madagascar is located near the coast East Africa, from which it separated more than 160 million years ago. Its unique landscape, which includes mountains, lakes, desert areas, jungles, has contributed to the conservation of a huge number of animal species. There are more than 250 thousand of them on the island, and most of them are endemic, that is, they are not found in other areas of the globe. The fauna of Madagascar is unique. It is mainly represented by small animals and reptiles.

Many species of island fauna are now on the verge of extinction. People extract minerals, cut down the jungle, causing animals to suffer.

Recently, the number of reserves and specially protected territories has increased, where all conditions are created for the free existence of a unique fauna. Scientists work by tracking various animal populations and fighting for their prosperity.

Madagascar - the kingdom of lemurs

The largest part of the island fauna are such animals of Madagascar as lemurs. The indigenous people treat them with special respect, because they believe that the souls of the dead move into the body of the semi-monkeys. More than 20 species of these animals live on the island.

Lemurs are kept by families in which the female dominates. These cute creatures are similar in appearance to their ancestors - monkeys, but they have shorter limbs and a pointed muzzle. Nature has perfected their appearance by adding big eyes. This mechanism allows you to perfectly navigate the extraction of food. The animals eat mainly insects and vegetation. They are very friendly, brave and curious.

Lemur species

The kata lemurs are distinguished by the most striking appearance. They are distinguished by a white muzzle with dark "glasses" and a long striped tail. In size, representatives of this species barely exceed domestic cat. Due to the almost complete absence of predators, animals of Madagascar, such as kata, are most widespread.

The smallest primate, the mouse lemur, lives in Madagascar. The body length of the baby is about 9 cm, with a tail - 27 cm. This species was discovered in 2000.

Another interesting representative- arm. Another name for the animal is ah-ah. It lives in trees and obtains its food using excessively long and tenacious fingers. The animal taps the trunks for larvae, using echolocation. His appearance is not particularly attractive: shaggy hair that sticks out in all directions, yellow wide-spaced eyes and large semi-circular ears.

Indri is one of the largest lemurs. Its weight reaches 10 kg, and its height is 90 cm. Despite its large dimensions, the beast deftly climbs trees. Each family has a strict range, which it guards by making loud noises.

Swamp tenrec

The most elusive animals of Madagascar, strangely adapted to life in water. The limbs of the tenrec are equipped with membranes and a large amount of muscle tissue. The animal deftly runs in shallow water, catching tadpoles and fish. For hunting, he uses vibrissae - sensitive antennae, which, like a locator, pick up vibrations in the water. The appearance of the tenrec is also interesting: its size is about 15 cm, and a mixture of wool and needles covers the entire body. In appearance, the animal looks like small hedgehog, in fact, it refers to shrews.

rare birds

The island is also rich in birds - there are about 150 species of them, of which a third are endemic. Most Madagascar from the class of birds - red-headed divers. Lack of food and drying up of water bodies due to human activities have put this species of ducks at risk of extinction. It was believed that these birds disappeared forever, but in 2006 a small population of 20 individuals was discovered. For 8 years of successful and painstaking work of zoologists, it was possible to increase it by 4 times. The dive is very beautiful, it has a red-brown body, a gray beak and a white belly.

The real unique is the blue cuckoo. The bird has an incredibly attractive appearance with rich blue plumage. Unlike relatives, she incubates offspring on her own. Due to its remarkable appearance, this endemic species has come under the threat of complete extermination by poachers.

Fossa

Who would have thought that the largest island predator reaches only 1.5 m in length, half of which is occupied by a long tail. Strong muscular beasts have a reddish-brown coat. Outwardly, these animals of Madagascar are similar to a cat and a marten, but belong to the viverrid family. The tail of the fossa, coupled with retractable claws, allows her to deftly climb sheer cliffs and trees in search of prey. The population of these predators is very small and is on the verge of extinction.

Amphibians

The island of Madagascar is replete with a huge number of amphibian species, among which the main ones are frogs, lizards and chameleons.

Rare and endangered species include Due to their incredible appearance, they easily avoid prying eyes. The amphibian reaches a length of 13 cm and has a tail barely distinguishable from a dried leaf. The body of an amphibian is covered with skin resembling tree bark.

Panther chameleons are distinguished by their bright coloration, which is easily changed due to special structure body cells. They use their skill for disguise and communication. This species is notable for its ability to simultaneously observe with two eyes different objects of hunting. Before throwing out a sticky tongue, the chameleon focuses on the target.

The tropical rainforests of the island are home to many frogs. The most notable are the tomato narrow-mouths. The females of this species have saturated color ripe tomato and black stripes on the sides of the body. When danger arises, their skin releases an irritating secret.

The vast territory of Madagascar has not yet been fully explored. Every year new species of animals are discovered. Scientists are achieving good results in increasing the population of endangered endemics of the island.