Mascarens
| Mascarens | |
|---|---|
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| Waters | Indian Ocean |
| Geographical location | 20 ° 43 ′ S , 56 ° 37 ′ E |
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| Number of islands | 2 main islands |
| Main island | Réunion , Mauritius ; in addition Rodrigues and Cargados-Carajos Islands |
| Total land area | 4519 km² |
| Residents | 2,111,000 (2009) |
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The Mascarenes are a chain of islands discovered in 1512 (other sources speak of 1505 or 1510) by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas .
The Mascarene Mountains are located around 850 km east of Madagascar around the 20th degree of southern latitude in the Indian Ocean . These include the French overseas department of La Réunion , the island of Mauritius and the island of Rodrigues, which belongs to the state of Mauritius . An earlier name of Réunion was Isle de Mascareigne or Mascarene Island .
The islands are located on a submarine high plateau, the Mascarene Plateau, the southern part of which was formed by the Réunion hotspot . Mauritius formed 8-10 million years ago, Réunion and Rodrigues 2 million years ago. The Cargados-Carajos Islands , about 400 km northeast of Mauritius, are coral reefs that have formed over a submerged volcano. Politically, you belong to Mauritius.
Due to their remote location and the fact that they were never connected to the mainland, the Mascarenes have a very unusual fauna with a high proportion of endemic species. Before humans arrived, there were several species of flightless birds there , many of which are now extinct. These include the Leguats Moorhen ( Aphanapteryx leguati ), the Mauritius parrot ( Lophopsittacus mauritianus ), the Rodrigues solitaire ( Pezophaps solitaria ) and the dodo ( Raphus cucullatus ). The pigeon species Nesoenas rodericana was able to fly, but here the rats introduced by Europeans meant that no young birds of these ground-breeding birds grew up. There were also giant tortoises of the genus Cylindraspis , whose shells had receded to varying degrees.
Web links
- Islands of Réunion and Mauritius, east of Madagascar on worldwildlife.org