Wallace Line
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The Wallace Line is a boundary that separates the zoogeographical regions of Asia and Australasia. West of the line are found organisms related to Asiatic species; to the east, mostly organisms related to Australian species. The line is named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who noticed the apparent dividing line during his travels through the East Indies in the 19th century. The line runs through the Malay Archipelago, between Borneo and Sulawesi (Celebes); and between Bali (in the west) and Lombok (in the east). Evidence of the line was also noted in Antonio Pigafetta's biological contrasts between the Philippines and the Spice Islands, recorded during the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.
The distance between Bali and Lombok is small, a matter of only about 35 kilometers. The distributions of many bird species observe the line, as many birds refuse to cross even the smallest stretches of open water. Arboreal mammals like bats and flying foxes have crossed the Wallace Line, but other terrestrial crossings are limited to rafting rats and shrews, and macaques. Exceptions are the dwarfed endemic buffalo and babirusa of Celebes.
References
- Penny van Oosterzee, Where Worlds Collide: the Wallace Line, 1997
- [Wallacea and More Lines]
- [Plate Tectonics and the Creation of Wallace's Line]
- [Pleistocene Sea Level Maps]
- [Wallacea - a transition zone from Asia to Australia, specially rich in marine life and on land.]
See also
References in Borneo
Abdullah MT. 2003. Biogeography and variation of Cynopterus brachyotis in Southeast Asia. PhD thesis. The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
Hall LS, Gordon G. Grigg, Craig Moritz, Besar Ketol, Isa Sait, Wahab Marni and M.T. Abdullah. 2004. Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia. Sarawak Museum Journal LX(81):191-284.
Wilson DE, Reeder DM. 2005. Mammal species of the world. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC.
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