Previously a hotspot for animal and plant species, new research suggests that Madagascar no longer plays host to species development.
Evolutionary records of seven groups of reptiles and amphibians found across the island and constructed evolutionary tree diagrams were used to compare the relative ages of the species.
Researchers found there had been a noticeable decrease in the rate of new species formation on Madagascar since the island became isolated following its split from the Gondwana super-continent some 90 million years ago.
