Mascarene Islands

Dr Julian Hume suggests it is likely the species island hopped down to the Mascarene islands before becoming genetically isolated due to the loss of flight on the islands some 12 million years ago, showing how the age of the island is in dispute.

“There is now a high dispersal risk of these toads spreading from Madagascar to other Indian Ocean islands such as the Mascarene Islands, Comoros and Seychelles,” says Kolby.

Similar plans to replace missing giant tortoises have been carried out in several locations, including Seychelles and the Mascarene Islands, and "researchers have seen very good success everywhere," Pedrono told LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet.

The origin of the interesting Mascarene wingless birds is discussed, and the main peculiarities of the remarkable flora of Madagascar and the Mascarene islands pointed out; while it is shown that all these phenomena are to be explained on the general principles of the permanence of the great oceans and the comparatively slight fluctuations of the land area, and by taking account of established pal�ontological facts.

Concluding Remarks on Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands.—There is probably no portion of the globe that contains within itself so many and such varied features of interest connected with geographical distribution, or which so well illustrates the mode of solving the problems it presents, as the comparatively small insular region which comprises the great island of Madagascar and the smaller islands and island-groups which immediately surround it.