Short description: Biogeographical region in Central Madagascar
Landscape in the Central Highlands region
The Central Highlands, Central High Plateau, or Hauts-Plateaux are a mountainous biogeographical region in central Madagascar . They include the contiguous part of the island's interior above 800 m (2,600 ft) elevation.[1] The Central Highlands are separated from the Northern Highlands of the northern tip of Madagascar by a low-lying valley, the Mandritsara Window, which has apparently acted as a barrier to dispersal for species in the highlands, leading to species pairs such as Voalavo gymnocaudus and Voalavo antsahabensis in the Northern and Central Highlands.[2] Species restricted to the Central Highlands include the bats Miniopterus manavi[3] and Miniopterus sororculus;[4] the rodents Brachyuromys betsileoensis[5] and Voalavo antsahabensis;[6] the tenrecs Hemicentetes nigriceps[7] and Oryzorictes tetradactylus;[8] and the lemur Cheirogaleus sibreei.[9] Because of the continuous habitat of the Central Highlands, there is little local endemism, unlike the Northern Highlands.[10]
Garbutt, N. 2007. Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide. London: A & C Black, 304 pp. ISBN978-0-7136-7043-1
Goodman, S.M., Rakotondravony, D., Randriamanantsoa, H.N. and Rakotomalala-Razanahoera, M. 2005. A new species of rodent from the montane forest of central eastern Madagascar (Muridae: Nesomyinae: Voalavo). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 118(4):863–873.
Goodman, S.M., Raxworthy, C.J., Maminirina, C.P. and Olson, L.E. 2006. A new species of shrew tenrec (Microgale jobihely) from northern Madagascar. Journal of Zoology 270:384–398.
Goodman, S.M., Ryan, K.E., Maminirina, C.P., Fahr, J., Christidis, L. and Appleton, B. 2007. Specific status of populations on Madagascar referred to Miniopterus fraterculus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae), with description of a new species. Journal of Mammalogy 88(5):1216–1229.