Invisible Wallace Line: How Tectonic Shifts & Climate Separated Asian & Australian Wildlife

• New research in Science explains the Wallace Line, a biological boundary dividing Asian and Australian wildlife, using advanced climate and tectonic modelling.
• The line, observed by Alfred Russel Wallace in the 19th century, separates islands with distinct animal populations, with monkeys dominating west and marsupials east.
• Tectonic collision between Australia and the Eurasian continental margin formed Indonesia's islands, with deep ocean trenches blocking land animal migration.
• Global climate cooling and shifting rainfall patterns created contrasting environments, favoring Asian species adapted to warm, wet tropics over dry-adapted Australian fauna.
• The Gen3SIS computer simulation tracked 20,000+ vertebrate species, showing Asian animals crossed eastward more successfully due to rainfall tolerance.

Why It Matters: Tectonic shifts and climate history created the Wallace Line, explaining the distinct wildlife of Asia and Australia.