Australasia

views updated Jun 11 2018

Australasia Region that includes Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The term Australasia is inexact. It is sometimes used to include various Asian countries (usually Indonesia and Malaysia), or extended to include Pacific island groups and the Australian and New Zealand territories in Antarctica. Many botanists and zoologists use the term to mean the lands and seas to the e and s of Wallace's Line. The native flora and fauna on one side of the line differ from those on the other.

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Australasia

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