Everything about Wallacea totally explained
Wallacea is a
biogeographical designation for a group of
Indonesian islands separated by deep water
straits from the
Asian and
Australian
continental shelves. The islands of Wallacea lie between
Sundaland (the
Malay Peninsula,
Sumatra,
Borneo,
Java, and
Bali) to the west, and
Near Oceania including
Australia and
New Guinea to the south and east.
The
Philippines (excluding
Palawan which was part of Sundaland) are also connected to Sundaland, but not Sahulland, by narrow straits and are usually but not always considered a separate region from Wallacea.
Geography
Wallacea includes the islands of
Nusa Tenggara, which include
Lombok,
Komodo,
Flores, and
Sumba;
Timor;
Sulawesi; the islands of
North Maluku, including
Halmahera; and most of the province of
Maluku, excluding the
Aru Islands, which lie on the Australian continental shelf. The total land area of Wallacea is 347,000 km².
The boundary between Sundaland and Wallacea follows the
Wallace Line, named after the naturalist
Alfred Russel Wallace who noted the differences in mammal and bird fauna between the islands either side of the line. The Islands of Sundaland to the west of the line, including Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Borneo, share a similar
mammal fauna with East Asia, including tigers, rhinoceros, and apes. During the ice ages, sea levels were lower, exposing the
Sunda shelf that links these islands to one another and to Asia, and allowed Asian land animals to inhabit these islands. The islands of Wallacea have few land mammals, land birds, or freshwater fish of continental origin, who find it difficult to cross open ocean. Many bird, reptile, and insect species were better able to cross the straits, and many such species of Australian and Asian origin are found there. Wallacea's plants are predominantly of Asian origin, and botanists include Sundaland, Wallacea, and New Guinea as the
Floristic province of
Malesia.
Similarly, Australia and New Guinea to the east are linked by a shallow continental shelf, and were linked by a land bridge during the ice ages, forming a single continent that scientists variously call
Australia–New Guinea, Meganesia, or Sahul. Consequently, Australia, New Guinea, and the
Aru Islands share many
marsupial mammals, land birds, and freshwater fish that are not found in Wallacea. The line dividing Wallacea from Australia–New Guinea is called
Lydekker's Line.
Although the distant ancestors of Wallacea's plants and animals may have been from Asia or Australia-New Guinea, Wallacea is presently home to many
endemic species. Because many of the islands are separated from one another by deep water, there's tremendous species diversity between islands as well.
Conservation International has designated Wallacea as a
biodiversity hotspot.
Wallacea was originally almost completely forested, mostly
tropical moist broadleaf forests, with some areas of
tropical dry broadleaf forest. The higher mountains are home to
montane and
subalpine forests, and
Mangroves are common in coastal areas.
According to Conservation International, Wallacea is home to over 10,000 plant species, of which approximately 1500 (15%) are endemic. Endemism is higher among terrestrial vertebrate species; of 1142 species found there, almost half (529) are endemic. Most of Wallacea was originally forested; 45% retains some sort of forest cover, and only 52,017 km², or 15 percent, is in a more or less pristine state. Of Wallacea's total area of 147,000 km², only 20,415 km² are protected. Wallacea is home to 82 threatened and six critically endangered species of terrestrial vertebrates.
Ecoregions of Wallacea
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
- Banda Sea Islands moist broadleaf forests (Kai Islands, Tanimbar Islands)
- Buru rain forests (Buru)
- Halmahera rain forests (Halmahera, Morotai, Obi Islands, Bacan Island)
- Seram rain forests (Seram, Ambon Island, Saparua)
- Sulawesi lowland rain forests (Sulawesi, Banggai Islands, Sula Islands, Sangihe Islands, Talaud Islands)
- Sulawesi montane rain forests (Sulawesi)
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
- Lesser Sundas deciduous forests (Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, Alor)
- Sumba deciduous forests (Sumba)
- Timor and Wetar deciduous forests (Timor, Barat Daya Islands, Banda Islands, Babar Island, Leti Islands)
Distribution between Asia and Australasia
Australia may be isolated by sea, but technically through Wallacea it isn't anymore. A good example of when Wallacea formed occurs in a fossil site called
Bluff Downs in northern Australia. Remains of basaltic lava show past oceanic subduction as Australia plowed north through the Pacific. At the site, one of the earliest Australian rodent fossils have been found. Australia's rodents make up much of the continents mammalian fauna and include various species from stick-nest rats, hopping mice, and even giant beaver rats. Other mammals invaded west. Two species of
cuscus from Sulawesi are among the most primitive possums in the world and the only marsupials in Asia.
Birds have expanded their range from Australia. Crows and shrikes invaded south into New Guinea and some into the Australian continent.
Bustards and
megapodes must have somehow colonized Australia. Cockateels similar to those from Australia inhabit Komodo Island in Wallacea.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Wallacea'.
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