Indomalaya ecozone

The Orientalis (Latin for east ) or Oriental region represents one of the great Faunenregionen the earth; they essentially comprises the south-eastern Asia, south of the Himalayas.

Definition

The Oriental region received its name in honor of Alfred Russel Wallace. The region comprises mainly the South Asia and is bounded to the north by the Himalayas in the south west of the Wallace Line. In the Pleistocene when the sea level was lower, the areas were northwest of the Wallace line connected to the mainland, so the similarity of the fauna can be explained. Occasionally, the eastern Philippines, which were apparently connected with the mainland only incomplete, not counted in the Oriental region. In the west and in the east there are large transition regions for Palaearctic region but also in the Himalayan region penetrate faunal elements of both regions. On the west are the Near Eastern deserts a kind of filter barrier to African tropical region, a limit that has not always been effective in the past as today. To share these two regions numerous animal forms and are sometimes combined to Paläotropis.

The Oriental region is rich in species, but has relatively few distinct species of animals and shares many shapes with the Palaearctic, the Afrotropical and Australis. Among the few endemic mammal groups the inclusion of the eastern Philippines, the rats hedgehogs, the tree shrews, the fur Flatterer that Borken rats fed rats, cats bears Stachelbilche, the tarsiers and the gibbons. The only endemic bird families are the Feenvögel and the tree sailors.

Habitats

The two main vegetation zones are for a dry forest, savannah and thornbush steppe of India and Farther India and other tropical rain, mountain, swamp and monsoon forests of the Western Ghats as well as Southeast Asia. Also, most of the islands, including the Greater Sunda Islands and the Philippines, which are usually expected to Oriental region are dominated by rain forests. In Sri Lanka and Java you will find savannahs and rain forests alike. The flood plains in the north of the Indian subcontinent are dominated by moist grasslands and forests. In the extreme west of the Oriental region can be found in front of the dry desert and semi- desert regions of the Thar.

• Ice sheets and glaciers

Mammals

Spread over almost the entire region are deer, wild cattle, wild boars, elephants, small cats, civets, mongooses, and macaque monkeys Slim. The large predators such as the tiger and the leopard and the Dhole are common in most areas of the region. The typical mammals of the rain forests are clouded leopards, sun bears, gibbons, shrews and tarsiers. Einstein also Malayan Tapir, Sumatran Rhino and Java rhino was widespread, but these species are currently limited to a few areas of retreat. The orangutan is now limited to the large Sunda Islands of Java and Borneo, but it was widespread in the Pleistocene to China. The Philippines is home to its own, but significantly reduced major wildlife. Here live Tamaraus, warty pigs and deer, but no predators.

Typical mammals of the Indian dry forests and savannas are wolves, Axishirsche, hyenas and antelopes such as the Nilgai, the four- horn antelope and the blackbuck. The lion was once the most important predator of the savannas, but is now a protected area, the Gir National Park is limited. The fauna of the flood plains in the north is composed of species of the adjoining rain forests and savannas. There are also typical species like the rhinoceros, wild boar, the dwarf and the marsh deer. The deserts in the north- west are home to half- asses, gazelles and wolves. The cheetah is no longer in the Oriental region before, but is limited in Asia on Iran. The rivers of the region are home to different river dolphins.

The Oriental is characterized by a wide range of ground birds, including pheasants, blue peacocks, Megapodes, tragopans, Bankivahühner, King chicken, Argus pheasant, francolin collar and Waldrebhühner. There are also numerous parrots and birds of prey, such as the Grey-headed eagle, the monkey eagle, the eagle hood Nepal, the Einfarbhaubenadler and the Malays eagle.

Reptiles

One of the largest reptiles include Marsh Crocodile, the Ganges - Gavial and the saltwater crocodile.