"Where on earth is Sundaland?" I hear you ask, since it isn't usually shown on the map. Sundaland encompasses many of Indonesia’s large tropical islands such as Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali as well as the western part of Malaysia, Brunei and the southern tip of Thailand, all of which lie on the Sunda Plate. Islands and countries to the east of the “Wallace Line" such as Timor – Leste, Flores, Sulawesi and PNG have different vegetation and different fauna such as cockatoos and marsupials, which make them part of Wallacea which we will be talking about next. Before the last Ice Age around 26,000 to 19,000 years ago, plants and animals could move freely between Indo -Burma and Sundaland which is why they share some common ancestors. However, once the ice melted and sea levels rose - around 8,000 and 6,000 years ago, they could no longer do so, resulting in the high degree of endemicity as the now trapped species evolved in isolation f...
Practising Geographer - nature culture places people