Over the past 15 years, concentrated efforts have been made to inventory and document the small mammals living in the high mountain zones of Madagascar. Tsaratanana in the north, the highest massif on the island and rising to 2876 m, was one of the last extensive mountain zones that remained largely unknown for its small mammal fauna. Herein we report on inventories conducted on these groups of animals by researchers from the University of Antananarivo Department of Animal Biology and the American Museum of Natural History on this massif between 2001 and 2003. In total 11 sites were surveyed. This new information provides important insight into the biogeography of small mammals at a local scale and across the humid forest regions of the island.
Mammalia, small mammals, biogeography, Tsaratanana, high mountains, Madagascar.