Madagascar’s biota is hyperdiverse and includes exceptional levels of endemicity. We review the current state of knowledge on Madagascar’s past and current terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity by compiling and presenting comprehensive data on species diversity, endemism, and rates of species description and human uses, in addition to presenting an updated and simplified map of vegetation types. We report a substantial increase of records and species new to science in recent years; however, the diversity and evolution of many groups remain practically unknown (e.g., fungi and most invertebrates). Digitization efforts are increasing the resolution of species richness patterns and we highlight the crucial role of field- and collections-based research for advancing biodiversity knowledge and identifying gaps in our understanding, particularly as species richness corresponds closely to collection effort. Phylogenetic diversity patterns mirror that of species richness and endemism in most of the analyzed groups. We highlight humid forests as centers of diversity and endemism because of their role as refugia and centers of recent and rapid radiations. However, the distinct endemism of other areas, such as the grassland-woodland mosaic of the Central Highlands and the spiny forest of the southwest, is also biologically important despite lower species richness. The documented uses of Malagasy biodiversity are manifold, with much potential for the uncovering of new useful traits for food, medicine, and climate mitigation. The data presented here showcase Madagascar as a unique “living laboratory” for our understanding of evolution and the complex interactions between people and nature. The gathering and analysis of biodiversity data must continue and accelerate if we are to fully understand and safeguard this unique subset of Earth’s biodiversity.

中文翻译：

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马达加斯加非凡的生物多样性：进化、分布和使用

马达加斯加的生物群非常多样化，包括特殊水平的地方病。除了提供更新和简化的植被类型地图外，我们还通过汇编和提供有关物种多样性、特有性、物种描述和人类使用率的综合数据，审查马达加斯加过去和现在的陆地和淡水生物多样性的知识现状。我们报告了近年来科学上新记录和新物种的大量增加；然而，许多类群的多样性和进化实际上仍然未知（例如，真菌和大多数无脊椎动物）。数字化努力正在提高物种丰富度模式的分辨率，我们强调基于实地和收藏品的研究对于推进生物多样性知识和找出我们理解中的差距的关键作用，特别是因为物种丰富度与收集工作密切相关。系统发育多样性模式反映了大多数分析组的物种丰富度和特有性。我们强调潮湿的森林是多样性和特有性的中心，因为它们作为避难所和近期和快速辐射的中心。然而，尽管物种丰富度较低，但其他地区独特的特有现象，例如中部高地的草地-林地马赛克和西南部的多刺森林，在生物学上也很重要。马达加斯加生物多样性的记录用途是多方面的，在发现食品、医药和气候减缓方面的新有用特性方面具有很大潜力。此处提供的数据将马达加斯加展示为一个独特的“活实验室”，有助于我们理解进化以及人与自然之间复杂的相互作用。如果我们要充分了解和保护地球生物多样性的这一独特子集，就必须继续并加快生物多样性数据的收集和分析。