The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Mascarene Islands

a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, east of the island of Madagascar. The group consists of three large islands: Reunion (a French possession), Mauritius, and Rodriguez (both part of the independent state of Mauritius). They are composed of volcanic rock and have elevations to 3,069 (on Reunion). There are active volcanos on the Mascarene Islands. The climate is tropical, trade-wind, and damp. The wind-ward slopes of the mountains have areas of evergreen tropical forests; on the leeward slopes there is savanna. The islands have sugarcane, coconut palm, tea, aloe, coffee, and vanilla plantations. The first European to reach the islands was the Portuguese Pedro de Mascarenhas in 1507.

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References in periodicals archive

Glomeremus (Figs 1-3) is the largest gryllacridid genus in Africa, with a total of 18 species spread across sub-Saharan Africa and some Mascarene Islands. Six species and subspecies are known from southern Africa.

Gryllacrididae (Orthoptera: Ensifera) in southern Africa

The geographic areas with the most sites records were Fiji (27), Hawaii (20), Madagascar (12), the Seychelles (12), and the Mascarene Islands (11).

Worldwide distribution of Syllophopsis sechellensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

KEY TO THE SPECIES OF HYDROMETRA IN THE MASCARENE ISLANDS

The first record of Hydrometra bifurcata (Heteroptera: Hydrometridae) from the island of Reunion, with distributional notes on other Hydrometra species from Madagascar

According to historical and geographical parameters, the prolific literary production of these territories can be divided into two sections: the first includes that from Madagascar and the Comoros Islands; the second, that of the Mascarene Islands (the Republic of Mauritius and the islands under its dominion) and Reunion (which is still, like Mayotte, a French Department overseas).

Carolina Sanchez-Palencia and Juan Jose Perales, eds. 2011: Literaturas postcoloniales en el mundo global

Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean situated off the south east coast of the African continent and forms part of the Mascarene Islands, which include the neighbouring islands inter alia, Saint Brandon and Rodrigues.

INTERVIEW WITH MAURITIUS HIGH COMMISSIONER

Cirrhitops mascarenensis, a new species of hawkfish from the Mascarene Islands, southwestern Indian Ocean.

On the validity of the Cirrhitid fish genus Itycirrhitus

Both emerging superpowers see the oldest of the Mascarene Islands as an important gateway to fast-growing consumer markets in mainland Africa comprising over billion people.

Wind of change blows over Diego Garcia: after years of prevarication, Britain has signalled that it is willing to return to the negotiating table with Mauritius to discuss the status of the Chagos Archipelago (best known for its island of Diego Garcia, pictured below, where the US has a huge military base). Sean Carey reports

For years, travel writers have lavished praise on the oldest of the Mascarene Islands, often quoting US author, Mark Twain from his 1897 travelogue, Following the Equator: "You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first, and then heaven; and that heaven was copied after Mauritius."

Trouble in paradise: Mauritius, one of the most sought-after destinations for high-end tourists, has seen its tourism revenues decline as a result of the economic downturn in its main market, the Eurozone. The island is now increasingly looking eastwards to make up the shortfall. Dr Sean Carey reports

The situation in the Mascarene Islands (Mauritius and Reunion) was as follows: as slaves disembarked in the Mascarene Islands they were distributed among the various plantation-owners.

The mozambiqueanisation of slaves embarking at Mozambiquean ports

My parents are about to sell their company too cheap," an MBA student whose family owns a medical equipment distribution company on the Mascarene Islands once told me.

The private M&A.: does the "private firm" discount exist?

Some of these "alternative" islands have endemic genera with a relatively high number of species that have exploited different ecosystems [e.g., Brachyglottis, with 30 species in New Zealand (Wagstaff & Breitwieser, 2004), Hubertia, with 25 species in Madagascar, Comoros and Mascarene Islands (Nordenstam, 2007)].

Caribbean Island asteraceae: systematics, molecules, and conservation on a biodiversity hotspot