Sahulland

views updated May 29 2018

Sahulland The name often given to the tropical portion of the combined AustraliaNew Guinea land mass, as it existed at times of low sea level during the Pleistocene. The faunas of the two present-day components have great similarities, the differences being due mainly to the fact that New Guinea is largely forested and Australia is largely open country. The Sahul shelf, linking New Guinea with Australia, is less than 200 m below the present sea level.

Sahulland

views updated May 23 2018

Sahulland The name often given to the tropical portion of the combined AustraliaNew Guinea land mass, as it existed at times of low sea-level during the Pleistocene. The faunas of the two present-day components have great similarities, the differences being due mainly to the fact that New Guinea is largely forested and Australia is largely open country. The Sahul shelf, linking New Guinea with Australia, is less than 200 m below the present sea-level.