The island of Madagascar is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.
Around 5% of the world's species live there, on less than half a percent of the world's total landmass.
The vast majority of those species are endemic.
That means they're found only in Madagascar.
And I'm not just talking about animals like lemurs or tomato frogs.
It's the same for plants and fungi, too.
At least for the species that scientists have the data on, anyway.
For many years, experts have cited Madagascar's isolation as the cause of all this biological variety.
But Madagascar is simply too diverse for just one reason to be behind it all.
Instead, it appears the island's secret lies not just in its seclusion, but also in its geological past, including getting ripped off of not one, but two separate continents.
