Madagascar Palms Who doesn’t know them, the characteristic, bulbous trees of Madagascar? We are not talking about the world-famous baobabs, but the Madagascar palms. But they are not palms. They actually belong to the dogbane family. Better simply use the botanical name of the genus: Pachypodium. Pachypodium belong to the succulents, plants that are particularly good at storing water. You …
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The greater hedgehog tenrec
Why it is called “great” is not known exactly. In fact, it is only slightly taller than his closest relative, the smaller hedgehog tenrec. Perhaps the term derives from its area of distribution: it covers almost all of Madagascar. Only in mangroves and marshes, the greater hedgehog tenrec does not occur. You can meet the greater hedgehog tenrec regularly in …
LesenSpecialists with sharp spines: The Lowland Streaked Tenrec
Most animals that only occur in Madagascar are very special. Also the streaked tenrec has its peculiarities and is considered to be the most highly specialized of all 31 tenrec species. They belong to the hedgehog tencres – they have spines like hedgehogs, but are actually not even related to the hedgehogs. Also the spines are not completely genuine: It …
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