Knowra Sundaland Sundaland Sundaland is the landmass exposed when low sea levels joined mainland Southeast Asia with islands on the Sunda Shelf. It connected areas now separated by shallow seas.
Sunda Shelf : A shallow continental shelf beneath the Java Sea, South China Sea, and surrounding waters of Southeast Asia. Its submerged surface became dry land when sea levels fell.
Continental shelf : The submerged, gently sloping edge of a continent extending from the shoreline to deeper ocean floor. Sundaland is the exposed portion of a broad continental shelf.
Pleistocene : The geological epoch from about 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago, marked by repeated glaciations. Most of Sundaland’s repeated expansions occurred during Pleistocene low sea levels.
Paleoecology : The study of past ecosystems using fossils, sediments, and other environmental evidence. It reconstructs the habitats that occupied Sundaland’s exposed plains.
Last Glacial Maximum : The interval of maximum ice-sheet extent during the last glacial period, about 26,500 to 19,000 years ago. Low sea levels then exposed much of Sundaland.
Borneo : An island in Southeast Asia shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Borneo was one of the largest highland areas within the expanded landmass.
Sundaic biogeography : The study of species distributions and evolutionary relationships across the Sundaic region of Southeast Asia. Exposed land connected habitats and helps explain shared species distributions.
Paleoriver : An ancient river system preserved in geological deposits or reconstructed from landforms. Submerged channels reveal how rivers crossed the former landmass.
Eustatic sea-level change : A change in global mean sea level caused chiefly by shifts in ocean-water volume or capacity. Global sea-level falls governed how far Sundaland extended.
Sumatra : A large Indonesian island west of the Malay Peninsula. Sumatra was joined to the mainland across exposed shelf during low sea stands.
Show all 21