|
|
These tropical islands are fragments of the ancient supercontinent Gondwanaland, and home to many endemic species of plants and animals. This Global 200 ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Granitic Seychelles forests; Mascarene forests; Aldabra Island xeric scrub If you're nuts about plants, you'll definitely want to visit the forests of the Seychelles. Here you'll find the extraordinary coco de mer palm tree, which bears the world's largest nut. The coco-de-mer, or sea coconut, weighs in at about 50 pounds (22.5 kilograms)! You’ll find many unique species, including Seychelles wild vanilla orchid, stilt palm, Seychelles pitcher plant, and one of the rarest plants in the world, the jellyfish tree. With a total population of less than 30, it was thought to be extinct until rediscovered in 1970.
The Seychelles and Mascarenes Moist Forests ecoregion consists of the only granitic islands in the world, as well as large, rugged, volcanic islands and flat coral islands known as atolls. Once part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwanaland, the Seychelles Islands are unique due to their age, geography, and isolation. This has contributed to a wide variety of endemic species, including legless caecilians (a wormlike amphibian), an endemic family of frogs, Seychelles paradise flycatchers, Seychelles magpie-robins, and Aldabra drongos. One of the most famous native species is a giant land tortoise. The heaviest recorded turtle in the world is Esmerelda, a 200-year-old giant land tortoise that weighs 705 pounds (320 kilograms). Even the small islands of the Mascarenes have endemic species, and were once home to the now extinct Dodo. Step ashore and you’ll be amazed by the rare forms of life you’ll encounter. Beginning in the Seychelles, you might see the Seychelles sheath-tailed bat swooping after insects at twilight, or spy legless caecilians or tadpoles attached to the backs of male Sooglossid frogs. Catch a glimpse of rare jellyfish trees, which hide in deep clefts of granite domes and have seed clusters that look like jellyfish. On Aldabra you might spy a giant tortoise drinking water through its nostrils. Next make your way to Reunion and keep your ears alert to the "tui-tui-tui" of the Reunion cuckoo-shrike. Motor on to Mauritius, and you might see the pink pigeon, as well as the Mauritius kestrel--a large bird of prey that has been successfully bred in captivity so that it can be reintroduced to boost dwindling populations.
Most of the forests, particularly in the lowland areas, have been disturbed or destroyed for development and agriculture. The islands’ plants and animals are also seriously threatened by non-native plants and animals that have been brought to the islands by humans. Introduced goats, pigs, and cattle inhibit regeneration of native forests; introduced cats, dogs, and tenrecs prey on native species, particularly seabirds, lizards, caecilians, and invertebrates.
|
