Sundaland
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Brilliant Pebble
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/* Ecology */ wikilink Wallace line
'''Sundaland''' is a [[biogeography|biogeographical]] region of [[Southeast Asia|Southeastern Asia]] that comprises the [[Malay Peninsula]] and the [[Malay Archipelago]] islands of [[Sumatra]], [[Java]], [[Borneo]], and surrounding smaller islands. The eastern boundary of Sundaland is the [[Wallace Line]], identified by [[Alfred Russel Wallace]], which marks the eastern boundary of the [[Asia]]'s land [[mammal]] fauna, and is the boundary of the [[Indomalaya]] and [[Australasia ecozone]]s. The islands east of the Wallace line are known as [[Wallacea]], and are considered part of Australasia.
Some scholars like Oppenheimer locate the origin of the [[Austronesian languages]] in Sundaland and its upper regions.<ref>Oppenheimer 1999</ref>
Genetic research reported in 2008 indicates that the islands which are the remnants of Sundaland were likely populated as early as 50,000 years ago, contrary to a previous hypothesis that they were populated as late as 10,000 years ago from Taiwan.<ref>http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/uol-nrf052308.php</ref>
==Ecology==
The islands of Sundaland rest on Asia's shallow [[continental shelf]]. During the [[ice age]]s, sea levels were lower and all of Sundaland was an extension of the Asian continent. As a result, the islands of Sundaland are home to many Asian mammals, including [[monkey]]s, [[ape]]s, [[tiger]]s, [[tapir]]s, and [[rhinoceros]]. The [[Wallace Line]], which includes the [[Lombok Strait]] between Bali and [[Lombok]], and the [[Makassar Strait]] between [[Borneo]] and [[Sulawesi]], marks the end of the Asian continental shelf, and the islands of Wallacea are separated from Asia and from [[Australia]] and [[New Guinea]] by deep ocean.
Botanists often include Sundaland, the adjacent [[Philippines]], [[Wallacea]] and [[New Guinea]] in a single [[Floristic province]] of [[Malesia]], based on similarities in their flora, which is predominantly of Asian origin.
==Ecoregions of Sundaland==
[[Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests]]
*[[Borneo lowland rain forests]] ([[Borneo]])
*[[Borneo montane rain forests]] ([[Borneo]])
*[[Borneo peat swamp forests]] ([[Borneo]])
*[[Eastern Java-Bali montane rain forests]] ([[Bali]], [[Java (island)|Java]])
*[[Eastern Java-Bali rain forests]] ([[Bali]], [[Java (island)|Java]])
*[[Mentawai Islands rain forests]] ([[Mentawai Islands]])
*[[Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests]] ([[Malay peninsula]])
*[[Peninsular Malaysian peat swamp forests]] ([[Malay peninsula]])
*[[Peninsular Malaysian rain forests]] ([[Anambas Islands]], [[Malay peninsula]])
*[[Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests]] ([[Borneo]])
*[[Sumatran freshwater swamp forests]] ([[Sumatra]])
*[[Sumatran lowland rain forests]] ([[Sumatra]], [[Nias]], [[Bangka Island]])
*[[Sumatran montane rain forests]] ([[Sumatra]])
*[[Sumatran peat swamp forests]] ([[Sumatra]])
*[[Sundaland heath forests]] ([[Indonesia]])
*[[Western Java montane rain forests]] ([[Java (island)|Java]])
*[[Western Java rain forests]] ([[Java (island)|Java]])
[[Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests]]<br>
*[[Sumatran tropical pine forests]] ([[Sumatra]])
[[Montane grasslands and shrublands]]<br>
*[[Kinabalu montane alpine meadows]] ([[Borneo]])
[[Mangroves]]<br>
*[[Sunda Shelf mangroves]] ([[Borneo]], [[Sumatra]], [[Riau Islands]])
== Notes and references==
{{reflist}}
=== Further reading ===
*[[Stephen Oppenheimer]]. Eden in the East, 1999, Phoenix (Orion) ISBN 0-7538-0679-7
===Selected faunal references in Borneo===
* Abdullah MT. 2003. Biogeography and variation of ''Cynopterus brachyotis'' in Southeast Asia. PhD thesis. The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia.
* Corbet, GB, Hill JE. 1992. The mammals of the Indomalayan region: a systematic review. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
* Hall LS, Gordon G. Grigg, Craig Moritz, Besar Ketol, Isa Sait, Wahab Marni, Abdullah MT. 2004. Biogeography of fruit bats in Southeast Asia. Sarawak Museum Journal LX(81):191-284.
* Karim, C., A.A. Tuen, Abdullah MT. 2004. Mammals. Sarawak Museum Journal Special Issue No. 6. 80: 221—234.
* Mohd. Azlan J., Ibnu Maryanto, Agus P. Kartono, Abdullah MT. 2003 Diversity, Relative Abundance and Conservation of Chiropterans in Kayan Mentarang National Park, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Sarawak Museum Journal 79: 251-265.
* Hall LS, Richards GC, Abdullah MT. 2002. The bats of Niah National Park, Sarawak. Sarawak Museum Journal. 78: 255-282.
* Wilson DE, Reeder DM. 2005. Mammal species of the world. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC.
==See also==
*[[Sunda Islands]]
**[[Greater Sunda Islands]]
**[[Lesser Sunda Islands]]
*[[Sunda Trench]]
*[[Australasia]]
*[[Oceania]]
*[[Biogeography]]
*[[Plate tectonic]]
==External links==
*[http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/sundaland Conservation International: Sundaland]
*[http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/reviews/atlantis.html Review of Oppenheimer's Eden in the East, about Sundaland]
*[http://www.grahamhancock.com/images/underworld/Sundaland.gif Animation of Sundaland submersion]
[[Category:Indomalaya]]
[[Category:Ecology]]
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[[ja:スンダランド]]
[[su:Amparan Sunda]]
[[th:เขตชีวภาพซุนดา]]