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Fauna
Ornamental
Fish
Pearl
Shells
Indonesia
contains one of the world's most remarkable
geographical oundaries in its distribution
of animals. This dates back to the glacial
period when sea level fell all over the
world. During this period the islands of
Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Bali on the
Sunda Shelf were joined together with one
another and with the Asian mainland, but
Irian Jaya, Aru and the Australian continent
of the Sahul Shelf were separated. This
early geographical separation xplains why
the tropical animal species of Java, Sumatra
and Kalimantan do not exist in Irian Jaya.
For the same reason, the Kangaroo of Irian
Jaya is missing in the other region. Maluku,
Sulawesi and the Lesser Sunda Islands, which
lie between the Sunda and Sahul shelves,
have a strikingly different fauna. Most
of the eastern fauna do not exist in Sulawesi
even though this island s close to Kalimantan,
being just across the Makassar Strait.
Similarly,
the animal species of Irian Jaya are not
found on Seram nd Halmahera, Irian Jaya's
closest neighbours. One possible reason
for this is that Kalimantan and Sulawesi
might have been separated by a deep straight
at one point, while the great depth of the
Banda Sea kept them apart during the glacial
period. Some Scientists have attributed
the phenomenon to three faunal lines. ALFRED
RUSSELL WALLACE (1823-1913) wrote in his
book, "The Malay Archipelago" that Nusantara
was separated into an Oriental ecological
area (west side) and an Australian ecological
area (east side) by a Wallace Line that
runs from South to North, passing the Lombok
and Makassar Straits and ending in the south
eastern part of the Philippines. The Weber
line which passes the sea between Maluku
and Sulawesi, and the Lydekker line which
starts at the edge of the Sahul Shelf Sulawesi
Island is in a transition zone known as
the Wallace Area. The other two faunal lines
are the Weber Line, which passes the sea
between Maluku and Sulawesi, and the Lydekker
Line, which starts at the Sahul Shelf and
skirts the western border of Irian Jaya
and the Australian continent. Other scientists,
however, prefer to call the area a "subtraction
transition zone".
At
the present stage of Indonesia's social
and economic development, wildlife is not
likely to survive without protection. To
this end, the Directorate General of Forest
Protection and Nature Conservation has planned
to designate about 10% of the country's
land area, or about 18.7 million ha, as
reserved areas. Until fiscal year 1991/92
there were 184 units of nature conservation
covering a total area of 8,494,118 ha, 73
units of wildlife reserve with a total area
of 5,586,209 ha, 56 recreational parks with
a total area of 263,470 ha, 13 units hunting
game with a total are of 241,387 ha, 7 marine
gardens with a total area of 72,930 ha,
and 30 units national park covering a total
area of 7,688,640 ha.
The
Directorate General has adopted a national
strategy on natural conservation whereby
the entire ecosystem is conserved. This
is necessary because it is often impossible
to preserve wildlife side its natural habitat.
For example, the orang utan, which literally
means "jungle man" (Pongo pygmaeus) and
only lives in the jungles of Sumatra and
Kalimantan, is very dependent on a primary
forest habitat. For this purpose, the Directorate
General, in cooperation with the World Wildlife
Fund (WWF), established orang utan rehabilitation
centers to prepare illegally captured orang
utans for return to life in the wilderness.
The
Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), the
world's largest lizard, can grow to 3 metre
long. Its home is on the Komodo group of
reserves, which are comprised of Komodo,
Padar and Rinca islands, off the coast of
Flores in the eastern part of the country.
The babi rusa, a deer-like pig (Babyrousa,
babi russa), and the anoa, a forest-dwelling
dwarf buffalo, are among the interesting
indigenous animals of Sulawesi. Other indigenous
mammals of Sulawesi are the big civet cat
called musang (Macrogalidiamusshenbroeki);
a species of the tersier called binatang
hantu, which literally means "spooky animal"
(Tarsius spectrum) and several species of
the black monkey or monyet hitam (Macacanigra).
Among
the vast variety of birds in Sulawesi, the
Maleo fowl and the shrub hen are two notable
species of the megapode family. Irian Jaya
and Maluku are rich in colorful birds, varying
from the big and unable-to-fly cassowaries
(Casuarius) and the brilliantly-plumaged
birds of paradise that belong to the family
of Paradiseidae and Ptilinorhynhidae and
number more than 40 species, to a large
variety of birds from the parrot family.
Other members of Indonesia's fauna include
the hornbill bird, or angkong/enggang of
the Bucerotidal family, which is noted for
its enormous horn-tipped beak. There are
also the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris
sumatrenesis) and the almost-extinct Java
tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica).
The
Mentawai Islands off the west coast of Sumatra
are home to the beruk, a relatively large
monkey often trained to pick coconuts; and
the lutung, or black monkey, which lives
on leaves. The Badak Jawa or one-horned
rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) lives in Ujung
Kulon National Park in West Java, but the
smaller badak Sumatra, or two-horned rhino
(Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) has its habitat
in the Mt. Leuser National Park (the largest
such park in the country) located around
the valley of the Alas river in Aceh, Indonesia's
northernmost province.
Other
notable animals are the banteng or wild
bull of Java (Bos javanicus); the tree kangaroo
(Dorcopsis muelleri) of Irian Jaya; the
fresh water dolphin (Orcacella brevirostris)
of the Mahakam river in East Kalimantan
and the proboscis monkey or bekantan, also
of Kalimantan. In addition, there is a great
variety of birds, including egrets, herons,
kingfishers, hawks, eagles and many others.
There are also thousands of species of insects
and a large variety of lizards and snakes.
Tortoises and turtles, as well as exotic
species of fish, crabs, mollusks and other
aquatic animals, living both in salt and
fresh water, are also found in great abundance.
Ornamental
Fish
Indonesia
is known worldwide for her ornamental fish
species which are exported to the United
States, Japan, and Germany. The species
most noted for their beautiful colors and
shapes include the clownfish (Amphiprion),
damselfish (Dascyllus), wrasse (Coris gaimardi)
and the Corisaygula which abounds in the
Bali Strait. The most common species is
the green wrasse (Thalasoma lunare). The
butterfly fish (Chaetodontidae) has a small
snout, but long snouted butterfly fish are
also found and include the Forcipiger longirostris
and Chelmon rostratus. Another species,
the bannerfish (Heniochus acuminatus) has
backfins longer than its body length; and
the Moorish idol or Zancluscanescens can
measure 20 cm. Angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator),
Pomancanthus semi-circulatus; Pygoplites-diacanthus,
and Auxiphipops navarchus, or Angle fish,
which belongs to the Pomancanthidae family,
are all collected for their beautiful colors.
Surgeonfish
(Acanthuridae) and Paracanthurus hepatus
are very popular because of their distinguished
bluish color. Other beautiful species are
the Acanthurus leucosternon, Zebrazoma veliferum
and Naso literatus. Living a solitary life
is the tiger fish or Balistidae. Sea horses,
or Hippocampus coronatus, of the syngnathidae
family are also among the ornamental fish
sought. Peacock fish, so named because of
their long fins, include the pterois zebra,
brachiopterus, volitans, ruselli, miles
and radiata varieties. They all belong to
the Scorpanidae family. There are many more
species of ornamental fish in Indonesia,
far too many to mention.
Pearl
Shells
Pearl
oysters found in the country include the
Pinctada maxima, the P. Margaritifera and
the Pteria penquin. These species grow in
the waters around Halmahera Island, the
Maluku and the Aru Islands in eastern Indonesia.
The pearls are in great demand because of
their large size and high quality. In the
Maluku pearl shells are collected and made
into beautiful ornaments.
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