Wallace's line

American  

noun

Zoogeography.

1. an imaginary line that separates the Oriental and Australian zoogeographical regions and passes between Bali and Lombok, west of Sulawesi, and east of the Philippines.

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Wallace's line British  

noun

1. the hypothetical boundary between the Oriental and Australasian zoogeographical regions, which runs between the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok, through the Macassar Strait, and SE of the Philippines

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Etymology

Origin of Wallace's line

First recorded in 1865–70; after A. R. Wallace

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Wallace's line

What is known as Wallace's line corresponds with the deep channel running between the islands of Bali and Lombok and continuing northwards to the west of Celebes.

From Anthropology by R. R. (Robert Ranulph) Marett

Wallace's line was barely formed when, at ten o'clock, Gladden's brigade, now commanded by Colonel Adams, moved again against Prentiss.

From From Fort Henry to Corinth by M. F. (Manning Ferguson) Force

Only one Cockatoo transgresses Wallace's line to the west, and that is found in the Philippine Islands; evidently it has spread there from the adjacent part of the Australian region.

From An Australian Bird Book A Pocket Book for Field Use by John Albert Leach

Woodpeckers, however, have crossed Wallace's line into Celebes and adjacent islands, and may yet reach Australia naturally.

From An Australian Bird Book A Pocket Book for Field Use by John Albert Leach

Strange it is that only one species should have spread to the west across Wallace's line to the island of Bali.

From An Australian Bird Book A Pocket Book for Field Use by John Albert Leach