Abstract:
Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major (1843–1923) made the first synoptic systematic collection of
mammals from Madagascar in the last decade of the 19th century. To reconstruct Major’s obscurely
known itinerary, we located 994 specimens that originated from his 1894–1896 expedition and
determined their identification, dates and locality of collection, and current institutional repository.
Fifty species were recovered from 26 localities centred in the Central Highlands and Eastern Humid
Forest of east-central Madagascar. The geographic position of several type localities is refined and
their coordinates estimated, and the type locality of one taxon (Microgale pusilla Major, 1896) is
accordingly amended. Biographical details of the man, the biodiversity significance of his collections
and the historical context of his discoveries are discussed.
