Mascarene Islands

Foetidia mauritiana

The Mascarene Islands, (French: [ Mascareignes] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) or Mascarenes, is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar.^[1]

They include Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues. Their name comes from the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas, who first visited them in April 1512.

The islands were formed by the volcanism of the Réunion hotspot beneath the Mascarene Plateau. They are a distinct ecoregion with a unique flora and fauna.

Extinct animals include the dodo (a flightless pigeon), and the Rodgrigues solitaire. The islands also had giant tortoises, and still has some endemic birds and reptiles.^[2]

Before the ships found the islands, the islands had no humans. Now they have many people, and the original ecology of the islands is being destroyed.

The Mascarene Islands are a French overseas department. Mauritius styles itself the Republic of Mauritius, and is self-governed.

This ecoregion covers the three main islands, Réunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues, and a number of smaller islets of the Mascarene Islands. The largest islands are the French Dependent Territory of Réunion (2,500 km2), and the island of Mauritius (1,900 km2), which together with Rodrigues (110 km2) forms the single independent nation of Mauritius. The nearest landmass is Madagascar, 680 km northwest of Réunion.^[3]

Mascarene Islands Media

Piton de la Fournaise 1.JPG

Piton de la Fournaise volcano as seen from Oratoire Sainte Thérèse Photo: B.navez - 01 SEP 2005 - Réunion island
D. Pedro Mascarenhas.jpg

Pedro Mascarenhas, namesake of the Mascarene Islands, was Viceroy of Portuguese India.
1780 Raynal and Bonne Map of Mascarene Islands, Reunion, Mauritius, Bourbon - Geographicus - GeneralesIsles-bonne-1780.jpg

1780 map of Reunion, Mauritius, and Rodrigues
VOC.svg

Logo of the Dutch East India Company
Map of Isle de France (now Mauritius)-P6280065.JPG

Isle de France (Mauritius) under the French
Phyllanthus tenellus 1.jpg

Phyllanthus tenellus (Mascarenes leaf-flower)
Open subalpine shrubland on Piton de la Fournaise, with Erica reunionensis, Stoebe passerinoides, Acacia heterophylla, and Erica galioides
Hoefnagel dodo.jpg

The dodo was a frugivore giant columbiforme of Mauritius Island where there are several Ocotea species. Painted by Jacob Hoefnagel, c. 1602
The Saint Brandon Conservation Trust at Corporate Council on Africa in May 2024 in Dallas, Texas.png

The Saint Brandon Conservation Trust at Corporate Council on Africa in May 2024 in Dallas, Texas

References

↑ Cheke, A. S. (1987). Diamond, Anthony William (ed.). An ecological history of the Mascarene Islands, with particular reference to extinctions and introductions of land vertebrates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 5–89. ISBN 978-0-521-11331-1.
↑ "Islands of Réunion and Mauritius, east of Madagascar | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
↑ "Mascarene Islands". Maritime Logistics Professional. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-18.

[1] Cheke, A. S. (1987). Diamond, Anthony William (ed.). An ecological history of the Mascarene Islands, with particular reference to extinctions and introductions of land vertebrates. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 5–89. ISBN 978-0-521-11331-1.

[2] "Islands of Réunion and Mauritius, east of Madagascar | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2021-11-18.

[3] "Mascarene Islands". Maritime Logistics Professional. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-18.

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