The Wallace Line is an imaginary line in Indonesia that separates two zoogeological regions associated with Asia and Australia. The region around the line is ecologically diverse, home to over 10,000 plant species and 1,142 terrestrial vertebrate species, including endemic species. The area within 1,000 miles of the line is a biodiversity hotspot with unique fauna, including the man-sized Komodo dragon.
The Wallace Line is an imaginary line in Indonesia between Borneo and the immediate eastern island, Sulawesi. The line has ecological significance because it separates two zoogeological regions which are respectively associated with Asia and Australia. West of the line, the fauna is more Asian. In the east, it more closely resembles Australian fauna. The reason for the line is a deep ocean trench that has preserved the gulf between these two islands for millions of years. Without it, they would have been periodically linked as ice ages caused sea levels to drop as much as 120 meters (394 ft), together linking Borneo with the Asian mainland and Sulawesi with Australia.
The region around the Wallace Line is often considered to be among the most ecologically diverse in the world, along with the Amazon rainforest and Congo rainforest. This region adjacent to the Wallace Line is often referred to as Wallacea. The region is home to over 10,000 plant species, of which 15% are endemic, and 1,142 terrestrial vertebrate species, of which approximately half (529) are endemic. These endemic vertebrate species include seven species of macaque, five species of tarsier, two species of anoa (a rare subgenus of buffalo), and the babirusa (a pig-like animal with two sets of curved horns).
The entire area within 1,000 miles of the Wallace Line on either side is a huge biodiversity hotspot. In West Borneo there are orangutans, countless birds and monkeys, numerous bats and the only lungless frog in the world. In Sumatra and Java, west and south of Borneo, there are tigers, rhinos, tapirs, bears and a leopard found nowhere else. Meanwhile, on New Guinea, the largest island east of Wallace’s line, there is an entirely different fauna, absent of all mammals except rodents and bats. Large mammals are all marsupials (such as tree kangaroos). Due to the absence of large mammalian predators, some islands are inhabited by the man-sized Komodo dragon, the largest lizard on Earth, which is an apex predator here.
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