Unique in the world and highly endangered, the millipedes of the Lavasoa-Ambatotsirongorongo forest in Madagascar

Endemic millipedes in the Lavasoa forest - Madagascar's most endangered habitat

Madagascar's forest habitats are highly threatened by deforestation - around 90% of the forests have already been destroyed. In the south-east of Madagascar, an isolated mountain about 800 metres high, the Lavasoa-Ambatotsirongorongo, is home to a unique rainforest. Not only do two species of mouse lemurs live on this mountain, a species of fat-tailed lemur that was only discovered less than 10 years ago and many other highly endangered lemurs (half-monkeys), but the small animals of the Lavasoa forest are also unique. Two species of giant scorpion(Ophisthacanthus lavasoa and the even larger Heteroscorpion kaii) can only be found in Lavasoa Forest. Two species of millipedes, Granitobolus endemicus and the Lavasoa giant squid(Sphaeromimus lavasoa) are also only found there. Two other millipedes, Alluad's giant millipede(Zoosphaerium alluaudi) and the huge, strikingly black and red coloured "hellish" fire millipede(Aphistogoniulus infernalis) have important habitats in the Lavasoa Forest. This forest, which is only 500 metres wide and 800 metres long, probably has more endemic species than the whole of Germany. Unfortunately, this globally unique forest is under great human pressure from charcoal extraction and tree felling and has lost another 50% of its area in 2021-2024. This makes the Lavasoa Forest, although officially protected, the most threatened habitat in Madagascar. The two millipede species that only occur there are therefore listed in the highest endangerment category of the Red List as "threatened with extinction".

Hope for the Lavasoa forest

However, there is hope for the Lavasoa Forest. Cologne Zoological Garden AG has maintained a field station at the forest since 2024 and is financially supporting a reforestation project of the Madagascan NGO "Tropical Biodiversity Social Enterprise" (TBSE) through the species conservation euro. As litter decomposers and thus soil conditioners, the millipedes of the Lavasoa forest will still play an important role in the restoration of the forest if they survive the current destruction phase. In co-operation between the Museum Koenig Bonn (LIB) and the Cologne Zoological Garden, a bachelor student from the University of Cologne will be studying the millipede fauna of the Lavasoa forest in more detail for the first time. Initial photographs already show the presence of two further endemic, as yet undescribed millipedes.