Madagascar dry deciduous forests

Tropical dry forest ecoregion in Madagascar

The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large scale clearance for agriculture. They are among the world's richest and most distinctive dry forests and included in the Global 200 ecoregions by the World Wide Fund. The area is also home to distinctive limestone karst formations known as tsingy, including the World Heritage Site of Bemaraha.

There are two separate areas within the ecoregion: the western side of Madagascar from the Ampasindava peninsula in the north to Belo sur Tsiribihina and Maromandia in the south (this is most of Mahajanga Province); and the northern tip of the island (apart from the high areas of Amber Mountain). Geological substrate is varied and includes the tsingy limestone massifs.

One characteristic in common with other tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests is the presence of relatively high densities of mammalian biomass. Several of Madagascar's characteristic lemur species are found here including the fat tailed dwarf lemur, five subspecies of Propithecus, three species of Lepilemur, and five species of Microcebus. Endemic mammals include three endangered species, golden crowned sifaka (Propithecus tattersalli) and Perrier's sifaka (Propithecus diadema perrieri) and western forest rat (Nesomys lambertoni) as well as mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz), golden brown mouse lemur (Microcebus ravelobensis), northern rufous mouse lemur (M. tavaratra), pygmy mouse lemur (M. myoxinus), Milne Edwards' sportive lemur (Lepilemur edwardsi), and greater big footed mouse (Macrotarsomys ingens). As well as lemurs the dry forests are home to the island's largest predator, the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) and some smaller carnivorans.