A "crown
of thorns" adorns the head of a streaked tenrec, a ground-dwelling
mammal only 7 inches long, found on the forest floor of Andasibe-Mantadia
National Park. Like porcupine quills, the spines are barbed and detachable
and are used in self-defense. Like lemurs, tenrecs evolved in the isolation
of Madagascar and are unique to the island. Madagascar owes its isolation
to more than 250 miles of deep ocean which separates it from Africa. The landmass
of India and Madagascar split from Africa some 165 million years ago. Madagascar
then split from India 88 million years ago, since which time it has been surrounded
by a deep and wide ocean.
