#569 Walking the Line

 Fun Fact #569

Walking The Line

For much of time an invisible line has been drawn which has greatly affected the fates of the Asian Sub-continent (Indonesia), and Australia called The Wallace Line. 

First described in 1521 by The Venetian Explorer Pigafetta when he noticed differences in the flora and fauna of the Indonesian  islands but was unable to ascertain why before Magellen was killed –derailing the voyage. While the record did make its way back to Europe, it remained forgotten about for over 333 years, until in 1854,  it caught the attention of English Navigator G.W. Earl.  As the Colonial Administrator of Indonesia, he took it upon himself to investigate this line of separation with a sounding cord (used to measure the depth in fathoms using a lead and line) and sending expeditions to local islands. He found that all the islands on either side of the line were connected by shallow seas but along the line they stopped being able to measure the depth. 

Then in 1859, British Naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace used it to back up his growing theory that Geography and Biodiversity were closely connected, creating the field of Science now called BioGeography. Wallace’s variant of the line became the most famous and one of the most impactful scientific discoveries of the last 200 years. This line has been used to help prove a: Darwin’s Theory of Evolution (1842), The Plate Tectonics Revolution (1967), Historical Changes in Ocean Levels, Predicting the distribution of Minerals/oils, and Predicting undiscovered Ocean Currents (helped with international shipping/ troop movement in WW1, along with the study of movement of large fish migrations). 

Lastly only Bats seem to cross the Wallace line outside of plants and smaller animals accidently rafting across the gap after particularly bad storms.