Wallace's Line in the Light of Recent Zoogeographic Studies

Abstract

Evidence accumulated from extensive exploration during the past 50 years no longer permits the consideration of "Wallace''s line" (Huxley, 1868) as the sharp boundary between the Oriental and the Australian zoogeographic regions. This imaginary line which passes from Lombok Strait (between Bali and Lombok islands) northward through Makassar Strait between Borneo and Celebes, marks the borderline of relatively few of the Oriental and of the Australian faunistic groups. Weber''s Line, farther eastward and nearer to the Australo-Papuan than to the Asiatic shelf, marks the western limit of a greater number of Australian spp. and the eastern limit of a greater number of Oriental spp. than does Wallace''s line. There is a more overlapping of Oriental and Australian spp. than was formerly supposed.