Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic), is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth largest island in the world, and is home to five percent of the worlds plant and animal species (more than 80 percent of which are indigenous to Madagasca). Most notable are the lemur infraorder of primates, the carnivorous fossa, three endemic bird families and six endemic baobab specie.
The adjective for Madagascar is Malagasy (not Madagascan), and the national language is the Malagasy language.
