What is the Wallace line?

The

Wallace line is an imaginary line in Indonesia between Borne and the island to its immediate east Sulawesi. The line is of ecological importance because it separates two zoogeological areas that are associated with Asia and Australia. West of the line is more Asian fauna. At its east it is more similar to the Australian fauna. The reason for the line is the deep ocean ditch, which has retained between the two islands for millions of years. Without it, they would be regularly connected because the ice ages caused the sea level to decrease by up to 120 meters (394 ft), connecting Borneo with the Asian mainland and Sulawesi with Australia. This area adjacent to the Wallace line is often called Wallacea. The region is home to more than 10,000 plant species, 15%that are endemic and 1142 terrestrial vertebrate species, of which about half (529) are endemic. These types of endemic vertebrates include seven macaque monkeys, five Tarsier species, two YESA species (rare subgenus buffalo) and babirusa (pig animal with two setme curved corners).

The whole area up to 1,000 miles from the Wallace line on both sides is a huge hotspot of biodiversity. At Borneo in the West there are orangutans, countless birds and monkeys, numerous bats and the only world frog without lungs. In Sumatra and Java west and south of Borneo are tigers, rhinos, tapir, bears and leopard anywhere else. Meanwhile, in New Guinea, the largest island east of the Wallace line, is a completely different fauna, which is missing in all mammals except rodents and bats. Large mammals are all warning (like an arborealkangaroos tree). Due to the absence of large predators of mammals, several islands are inhabited by the human dragon, the largest lizard on Earth, which is a predator of peak.