Mammals’ Insular Dispersal on Madagascar: Land Bridges and Rafting Theories, a Counterpoint Review
Abstract
Insular faunas and fossil assemblages result from a complex interaction of geodynamical (geological, climatic, and eustatic) and biological, taphonomic, and historical processes. The debate should not be framed as a contest between biology and geodynamics but rather as an effort to reconcile the two. Geodynamic reconstructions must remain independent of biological assumptions, yet they must also be consistent with biological evidence. If faunal dispersal patterns appear to contradict existing geological models to the extent that they require improbable explanations, then the fault likely lies in the geological reconstructions, which should be revisited. We present here how recent geophysical and geological data completely reshape our view of the geodynamic evolution of the Mozambique Channel and provide geodynamic and paleo-biogeographical coherence, leading to more robust and coherent reconstructions of Earth's past.
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BibTeX
@article{aslanian2026mammals,
title = {{Mammals’ Insular Dispersal on Madagascar: Land Bridges and Rafting Theories, a Counterpoint Review}},
author = {Daniel Aslanian and Romain Pellen and Marina Rabineau and Maryline Moulin and Estelle Leroux and Eva Thicot and Antoine Delaunay and Guillaume Baby and Simon Courgeon and Bastien Linol and Jean-Pierre Suc and Speranta-Maria Popescu and Séverine Fauquette and Paul P A Mazza and Sébastien Couette and Massimiliano Delpero and Thierry Huck and Pierrick Penven and Théo Le Hir and Yurui Zhang},
journal = {Annual Review of Marine Science},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1146/annurev-marine-051325-104200},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05764971v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mammals’ Insular Dispersal on Madagascar: Land Bridges and Rafting Theories, a Counterpoint Review
AU - Daniel Aslanian
AU - Romain Pellen
AU - Marina Rabineau
AU - Maryline Moulin
AU - Estelle Leroux
AU - Eva Thicot
AU - Antoine Delaunay
AU - Guillaume Baby
AU - Simon Courgeon
AU - Bastien Linol
AU - Jean-Pierre Suc
AU - Speranta-Maria Popescu
AU - Séverine Fauquette
AU - Paul P A Mazza
AU - Sébastien Couette
AU - Massimiliano Delpero
AU - Thierry Huck
AU - Pierrick Penven
AU - Théo Le Hir
AU - Yurui Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/27
JO - Annual Review of Marine Science
DO - 10.1146/annurev-marine-051325-104200
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05764971v1
AB - Insular faunas and fossil assemblages result from a complex interaction of geodynamical (geological, climatic, and eustatic) and biological, taphonomic, and historical processes. The debate should not be framed as a contest between biology and geodynamics but rather as an effort to reconcile the two. Geodynamic reconstructions must remain independent of biological assumptions, yet they must also be consistent with biological evidence. If faunal dispersal patterns appear to contradict existing geological models to the extent that they require improbable explanations, then the fault likely lies in the geological reconstructions, which should be revisited. We present here how recent geophysical and geological data completely reshape our view of the geodynamic evolution of the Mozambique Channel and provide geodynamic and paleo-biogeographical coherence, leading to more robust and coherent reconstructions of Earth's past.
SN - 1941-1405
ER -