If monophyletic, the nesomyines represent one of only four colonization events of terrestrial mammals from mainland Africa. The other groups are tenrecs, lemurs and Malagasy carnivorans. Molecular clock analyses suggest that the ancestor of the nesomyines colonized Madagascar about 20-25 million years ago. This is at approximately the same time as the Malagasy carnivorans, but is considerably more recent than the estimated colonization times of tenrecs and lemurs.
