Wallacea
Encyclopedia
Wallacea is a biogeographical
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...

 designation for a group of Indonesian
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 islands separated by deep water strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

s from the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n and Australian
Australia (continent)
Australia is the world's smallest continent, comprising the mainland of Australia and proximate islands including Tasmania, New Guinea, the Aru Islands and Raja Ampat Islands...

 continental shelves
Continental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...

. Wallacea includes Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

, the largest island in the group, as well as Lombok
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...

, Sumbawa
Sumbawa
Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. It is in the province of West Nusa Tenggara....

, Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...

, Sumba
Sumba
Sumba is an island in eastern Indonesia, is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sumba has an area of 11,153 km², and the population was officially at 611,422 in 2005...

, Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...

, Halmahera
Halmahera
Halmahera is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia.Halmahera has a land area of 17,780 km² and a population in 1995 of 162,728...

, Buru
Buru
Buru is the third largest island within Maluku Islands of Malay Archipelago. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon and Seram islands. The island belongs to Maluku province of Indonesia and includes the Buru and South Buru regencies...

, Seram
Seram
Seram is an island in the Maluku province of Indonesia. It is located north of Ambon Island. The chief port/town is Masohi.- Geography and geology :...

, and many smaller islands. The islands of Wallacea lie between Sundaland
Sundaland
Sundaland is a biogeographical region of Southeastern Asia which encompasses the areas of the Asian continental shelf that was exposed during the last ice age. It included the Malay Peninsula on the Asian mainland, as well as the large islands of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra and their surrounding...

 (the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, Java, and Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

) to the west, and Near Oceania
Near Oceania
Near Oceania or Near Melanesia is the part of Oceania settled 35,000 years ago, comprising western Island Melanesia: the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands archipelago. Some definitions include Australia and New Guinea...

 including Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

 to the south and east. The total land area of Wallacea is 347,000 km².
Provinces
Provinces of Indonesia
The province is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body...

 and major islands
Islands of Indonesia
This is a list of islands of Indonesian Archipelago. Indonesia comprises 17,508 - 18,306 islands and 8,844 that have been named according to estimates made by the Government of Indonesia, with 922 of those permanently inhabited. The islands span eastward from Sabang in northern Sumatra to Merauke...

 in Wallacea
Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...


6 provinces
North Maluku
North Maluku
North Maluku is a province of northeastern Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, which are split between it and the province of Maluku. Maluku province used to cover the entire group...

, including Halmahera
Halmahera
Halmahera is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia.Halmahera has a land area of 17,780 km² and a population in 1995 of 162,728...

Maluku, excluding Aru Islands
Aru Islands
The Aru Islands are a group of about ninety-five low-lying islands in the Maluku province of eastern Indonesia. They also form a regency of Indonesia.-Geography:...

West Nusa Tenggara
West Nusa Tenggara
West Nusa Tenggara is a province in south-central Indonesia. The province encompasses the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, except for Bali as the Wallace line running the length of the Lombok Strait forms the western boundary of the province....


(Lombok
Lombok
Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...

, Sumbawa
Sumbawa
Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. It is in the province of West Nusa Tenggara....

)
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...

, including
Komodo, Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...

, Sumba
Sumba
Sumba is an island in eastern Indonesia, is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sumba has an area of 11,153 km², and the population was officially at 611,422 in 2005...

, West Timor
West Timor
West Timor is the western and Indonesian portion of the island of Timor and part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara, .During the colonial period it was known as "Dutch Timor" and was a centre of Dutch loyalists during the Indonesian National Revolution...


East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

(independent)

Geography

The boundary between Sundaland and Wallacea follows the Wallace Line
Wallace Line
The Wallace Line separates the ecozones of Asia and Wallacea, a transitional zone between Asia and Australia. West of the line are found organisms related to Asiatic species; to the east, a mixture of species of Asian and Australian origin is present...

, named after the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist...

 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
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

 fauna with East Asia, including tigers, rhinoceros, and apes. During the ice ages, sea levels were lower, exposing the Sunda shelf
Sunda Shelf
Geologically, the Sunda Shelf is a south east extension of the continental shelf of Southeast Asia. Major landmasses on the shelf include the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Madura, Bali and their surrounding smaller islands. It covers an area of approximately 1.85 million km2...

 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
Floristic province
A phytochorion, in phytogeography, is a geographic area with a relatively uniform composition of plant species. Adjacent phytochoria do not usually have a sharp boundary, but rather a soft one, a transitional area in which many species from both regions overlap...

 of Malesia
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the boundaries of the Indomalaya ecozone and Australasia ecozone, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom.-Floristic province:...

.

Similarly, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

 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
Aru Islands
The Aru Islands are a group of about ninety-five low-lying islands in the Maluku province of eastern Indonesia. They also form a regency of Indonesia.-Geography:...

 share many marsupial
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...

 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. The Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 (excluding Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...

 which was part of Sundaland) are usually but not always considered a separate region from Wallacea.
The Weber Line is the midpoint where Asian and Australian fauna and flora are approximately equally represented, and follows the deepest strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

s traversing the Indonesian Archipelago.

Biota and conservation issues

Although the distant ancestors of Wallacea's plants and animals may have been from Asia or Australia-New Guinea, Wallacea is home to many endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 species. There is extensive autochthonous speciation
Speciation
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which new biological species arise. The biologist Orator F. Cook seems to have been the first to coin the term 'speciation' for the splitting of lineages or 'cladogenesis,' as opposed to 'anagenesis' or 'phyletic evolution' occurring within lineages...

 and proportionately large numbers of endemics; it is an important contributor to the overall mega-biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

 of the Indonesian archipelago. Because many of the islands are separated from one another by deep water, there is tremendous species diversity among the islands as well.

Fauna species include the endemic anoa
Anoa
Anoa, also known as Dwarf Buffalo and Sapiutan, are a subgenus of Bubalus comprising two species native to Indonesia: the Mountain Anoa and the Lowland Anoa . Both live in undisturbed rainforest, and are essentially miniature water buffalo...

 (dwarf buffalo) of Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

 and the babirusa
Babirusa
The North Sulawesi babirusa, Babyrousa celebensis, is a pig-like animal native to northern Sulawesi and the nearby Lembeh Islands in Indonesia. It has two pairs of large tusks composed of enlarged canine teeth. The canines in the maxilla penetrate the top of the snout, curving back toward the...

 (deer pig). Maluku shows a degree of species similarity with Sulawesi but with fewer flora and fauna. Smaller mammals including primates are common. Seram
Seram
Seram is an island in the Maluku province of Indonesia. It is located north of Ambon Island. The chief port/town is Masohi.- Geography and geology :...

 is noted for its butterflies and birdlife including the Amboina King Parrot.

Wallacea was originally almost completely forested, mostly tropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome....

, with some areas of tropical dry broadleaf forest
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest biome, also known as tropical dry forest, is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimeters of rain per year, they have long dry seasons...

. The higher mountains are home to montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...

 and subalpine
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...

 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. 45% of the region retains some sort of forest cover, and only 52,017 km², or 15 percent, is in pristine state. Of Wallacea's total area of 347,000 km², about 20,000 km² are protected.

Wallacea is home to 82 threatened and six critically endangered species of terrestrial vertebrates.

Ecoregions

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome....

  • Banda Sea Islands moist broadleaf forests (Kai Islands
    Kai Islands
    The Kai Islands of Indonesia are in the south-eastern part of the Maluku Islands, in Maluku Province.-Geography:...

    , Tanimbar Islands
    Tanimbar Islands
    The Tanimbar Islands, also called Timor Laut, are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia, including Fordata, Larat, Maru, Molu, Nuswotar, Selaru, Selu, Seira, Wotap, Wuliaru and Yamdena.-Geography:...

    )
  • Buru rain forests (Buru
    Buru
    Buru is the third largest island within Maluku Islands of Malay Archipelago. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon and Seram islands. The island belongs to Maluku province of Indonesia and includes the Buru and South Buru regencies...

    )
  • Halmahera rain forests (Halmahera
    Halmahera
    Halmahera is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia.Halmahera has a land area of 17,780 km² and a population in 1995 of 162,728...

    , Morotai
    Morotai
    Morotai Island Regency is a regency of North Maluku province, Indonesia, located on Morotai Island. The population was 54,876 in 2007.-History:...

    , Obi Islands
    Obi Islands
    The Obi Islands are a group of islands in the Indonesian province of Maluku. They lie north of Buru and Ceram....

    , Bacan Island)
  • Seram rain forests (Seram
    Seram
    Seram is an island in the Maluku province of Indonesia. It is located north of Ambon Island. The chief port/town is Masohi.- Geography and geology :...

    , Ambon Island
    Ambon Island
    Ambon Island is part of the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. The island has an area of , and is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon Island consists of 2 territories: The main city and seaport is Ambon , which is also the capital of Maluku province and Maluku Tengah Ambon Island is part of the...

    , Saparua
    Saparua
    Saparua is an island east of Ambon Island in the Indonesian province of Maluku. The main port is in the south at Kota Saparua.Saparua was the location of Indonesian national hero, Pattimura's rebellion against Dutch forces.Paperu is a village on the island....

    )
  • Sulawesi lowland rain forests (Sulawesi
    Sulawesi
    Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

    , Banggai Islands, Sula Islands
    Sula Islands
    The Sula Islands are a group of islands in North Maluku in Indonesia. Its three main islands are Mangole, Sanae and Taliabu, with smaller islands Lifamatola and Seho. It is administered as Kepulauan Sula Regency...

    , Sangihe Islands
    Sangihe Islands
    The Sangihe Islands – – are a group of islands constitute 2 regencies in northern Indonesia, the Sangihe Islands Regency & Sitaro Islands Regency...

    , Talaud Islands
    Talaud Islands
    Talaud Islands is a group of islands located north of Sulawesi island in Indonesia, northeast of the Sangihe Islands...

    )
  • Sulawesi montane rain forests (Sulawesi
    Sulawesi
    Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...

    )

Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest biome, also known as tropical dry forest, is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimeters of rain per year, they have long dry seasons...

  • Lesser Sundas deciduous forests (Lombok
    Lombok
    Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east...

    , Sumbawa
    Sumbawa
    Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. It is in the province of West Nusa Tenggara....

    , Komodo, Flores
    Flores
    Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...

    , Alor
    Alor Archipelago
    The Alor Archipelago is located at the easternmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands.Alor is the largest island in the archipelago which is located at its eastern end. Other islands in the archipelago include Pantar, Kepa, Buaya, Ternate , Pura and Tereweng...

    )
  • Sumba deciduous forests (Sumba
    Sumba
    Sumba is an island in eastern Indonesia, is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sumba has an area of 11,153 km², and the population was officially at 611,422 in 2005...

    )
  • Timor and Wetar deciduous forests (Timor
    Timor
    Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...

    , Barat Daya Islands
    Barat Daya Islands
    The Barat Daya Islands are a group of islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The Indonesian phrase barat daya means 'south-west'.-Geography:...

    , Banda Islands
    Banda Islands
    The Banda Islands are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about south of Seram Island and about east of Java, and are part of the Indonesian province of Maluku. The main town and administrative centre is Bandanaira, located on the island of the same name. They rise...

    , Babar Island
    Babar Island
    The Babar Islands are located in Maluku Province, Indonesia between latitudes 7 degrees 31 minutes South to 8 degrees 13 minutes South and from longitudes 129 degrees 30 minutes East to 130 degrees 05 minutes East...

    , Leti Islands)

Distribution between Asia and Australasia

Australia may be isolated by sea, but technically through Wallacea it can be zoologically extended. An example of evidence for when Wallacea formed exists at the Bluff Downs fossil site
Bluff Downs fossil site
The Bluff Downs fossil site is a paleontological site of Pliocene age in northern Queensland, Australia. The fossil site lies on the banks of Allingham Creek on the pastoral property of Bluff Downs Station.-Fossil fauna:...

 in northern Australia. Remains of basaltic lava show past oceanic subduction as Australia ploughed north through the Pacific. At the site, one of the earliest Australian rodent fossils has been found. Australia's rodents make up much of the continent's placental mammal fauna and include various species from stick-nest rats, hopping mice, and even giant beaver rats. Other mammals invaded west. Two species of cuscus
Cuscus
Cuscus is the common name generally given to the species within the four genera of Australasian possum:* Ailurops* Phalanger* Spilocuscus* Strigocuscus...

 from Sulawesi are among the most primitive possums in the world and the only marsupials in Asia.

Birds have expanded their range to and from Australia. Crows and shrikes invaded south into New Guinea and some into the Australian continent. Bustards and megapodes must have somehow colonized Australia. Cockatiels similar to those from Australia inhabit Komodo Island in Wallacea.

A few species of Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

, a predominant genus of trees in Australia, are found in Wallacea: Eucalyptus deglupta
Eucalyptus deglupta
Eucalyptus deglupta is a tall tree, commonly known as the Rainbow Eucalyptus, the Mindanao Gum, or the Rainbow Gum. It is the only Eucalyptus species found naturally in the Northern Hemisphere. Its natural distribution spans New Britain, New Guinea, Ceram, Sulawesi and Mindanao.The unique...

on Sulawesi, and E. urophylla
Eucalyptus urophylla
Eucalyptus urophylla is a species of Eucalypt native to islands of the Indonesian Archipelago and Timor. It has been used to produce hybrid species as it appears to be insect-resistant, including a timber with a trade name of "Lyptus", hybridised with Eucalyptus grandis, commonly known as the Rose...

and E. alba
Eucalyptus alba
Eucalyptus alba, or white gum, is a species of Eucalyptus which is native to Australia, Timor Leste, and East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. It was first described in 1826....

in East Nusa Tenggara.

External links

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