Birds of paradise, biogeography and ecology in New Guinea: a review
Birds of paradise, biogeography and ecology in New Guinea: a review
Birds of paradise, biogeography and ecology in New Guinea: a review
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902 M. Heads<br />
Figure 19 Zosterops atriceps (hatched) subspecies on Morotai,<br />
Halmahera, <strong>and</strong> Bacan. Z chloris has subspecies (solid l<strong>in</strong>e) on Aru,<br />
Kai, Seram, Schildpad, Halmahera; S Moluccas, Tanimbar, Torres<br />
Srait Is. (albiventris), <strong>and</strong> others around Sulawesi, Lombok <strong>and</strong><br />
isl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong>f SE Borneo.<br />
Figure 21 The distribution <strong>of</strong> Aquilaria ®laria (Thymelaeaceae).<br />
Figure 20 Pachycephala phaionota, with two subspecies: one on<br />
Aru Is., N Moluccas, Western Papuan Isl<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> Geelv<strong>in</strong>k Bay<br />
islets, the other endemic to Majau I. (N Moluccas). The genus ranges<br />
north to Thail<strong>and</strong>.<br />
The Moluccas have an important biogeographical connection<br />
to the south, for example Lichmera Cabanis reaches<br />
its northern limit <strong>in</strong> the Moluccas. To the north, the<br />
Moluccas l<strong>in</strong>k <strong>New</strong> Gu<strong>in</strong>ea with the Philipp<strong>in</strong>es. Examples<br />
are Amaurornis olivaceus (Meyen) <strong>and</strong> the tree Aquilaria<br />
®laria (Oken) Merr. (D<strong>in</strong>g Hou, 1960; now also known<br />
from the Sepik region) (Fig. 21).<br />
F<strong>in</strong>ally, the northern Moluccas are an important eastern<br />
boundary for many Indian Ocean groups, such as the l<strong>and</strong><br />
snail family Clausiliideae (Szekeres, 1980), the sylv<strong>in</strong>e<br />
warbler Bradypterus Swa<strong>in</strong>son (Africa ± northern Moluccas),<br />
the bat family Megadermatidae (Africa ± northern<br />
Moluccas) <strong>and</strong> the palm subtribe Oncospermat<strong>in</strong>ae J.D.<br />
Hooker (Uhl & Drans®eld, 1987; map 43) (Seychelles has<br />
four genera, Sri Lanka ± northern Moluccas has one genus).<br />
Craw et al. (1999, Fig. 4.4) mapped vicariant butter¯y<br />
genera <strong>in</strong>, respectively, SE Asia east to Sulawesi, <strong>and</strong> the<br />
Moluccas east to Australasia.<br />
Summariz<strong>in</strong>g, the biogeographical boundary, or node,<br />
between Sulawesi <strong>and</strong> the Moluccas (`Weber's l<strong>in</strong>e') may not<br />
be as well-known as its over-famous neighbour, the break<br />
between Sulawesi <strong>and</strong> Borneo (`Wallace's l<strong>in</strong>e'), but it is<br />
probably <strong>of</strong> similar signi®cance. As shown, a break between<br />
the Moluccas <strong>and</strong> Sulawesi occurs <strong>in</strong> many plants <strong>and</strong><br />
animals, <strong>and</strong> this same break <strong>in</strong> Paradisaeidae cannot be<br />
<strong>in</strong>terpreted as an anomaly. The northern Moluccas have<br />
several different st<strong>and</strong>ard biogeographical connections with<br />
north <strong>and</strong> south <strong>New</strong> Gu<strong>in</strong>ea, recall<strong>in</strong>g the different character<br />
recomb<strong>in</strong>ations <strong>in</strong> Semioptera.<br />
De Boer (1995a) wrote that the cicadas <strong>of</strong> the Moluccas<br />
show ®ve dist<strong>in</strong>ct patterns <strong>of</strong> distribution, each <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
different relationships between parts <strong>of</strong> the Moluccas <strong>and</strong><br />
different areas. Like Paradisaeidae <strong>and</strong> the other birds<br />
mapped above, the cicadas Cosmopsaltria StaÊl, Diceropyga<br />
StaÊl, Aedeastria de Boer (Fig. 22), Gymnotympana StaÊl<br />
(Fig. 23) <strong>and</strong> Baeturia StaÊl are all ma<strong>in</strong>ly <strong>in</strong> <strong>New</strong> Gu<strong>in</strong>ea,<br />
but each has a few species <strong>in</strong> NE Queensl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> outly<strong>in</strong>g<br />
endemics <strong>in</strong> the Moluccas. Discuss<strong>in</strong>g these genera, de Boer<br />
(1995a) cited three volcanic isl<strong>and</strong> arc systems <strong>in</strong> the the<br />
West Paci®c, one <strong>of</strong> which, the Halmahera arc, comprises<br />
eastern M<strong>in</strong>danao (Philipp<strong>in</strong>es), the northern Moluccas <strong>and</strong><br />
Waigeo Isl<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> possibly connects with the Mariana <strong>and</strong><br />
Palau/Yap arcs. The Halmahera arc formed far to the east <strong>of</strong><br />
its present position on a fracture <strong>of</strong> the Paci®c plate ± it<br />
might have ended close to the Papuan Pen<strong>in</strong>sula. S<strong>in</strong>ce the<br />
early or middle Miocene the arc has swept 2000 km<br />
westwards past the north-western edge <strong>of</strong> <strong>New</strong> Gu<strong>in</strong>ea <strong>in</strong>to<br />
the Moluccas region (Daly et al., 1991; Honza, 1991). The<br />
geology <strong>of</strong> the northern Moluccas region is highly complex<br />
<strong>and</strong> controversial; one <strong>in</strong>terpretation is shown <strong>in</strong> Fig. 24.<br />
Ó Blackwell Science Ltd 2001, Journal <strong>of</strong> Biogeography, 28, 893±925