Malayan BioProvince

This BioProvince (as defined by Armen Takhtajan) comprises the Malay Peninsula roughly south of the line between the Kedah River near Alor Setar on the west coast and Songkhlia on the east coast. The northern boundary therefore crosses the border between Malaysia and Thailand. The BioProvince also includes the island of Singapore, the Riau Archipelago and the Anambas Islands. A striking geological feature is the extensive limestone terrain, which includes abrupt cliffs and karst towers or pinnacles that rise sheer from the underlying plain - their surfaces are often honeycombed with caves. The area experiences a tropical climate with two monsoon seasons - the northwest monsoon from October to February and the southwest monsoon from April to October. These bring many squalls and thunderstorms. The flora has a number of endemic genera including Acrymia, Aleisanthia, Andresia, Becheria, Burkilliodendron, Calospatha, Codonoboea, Hederopsis, Hexapora, Klossia, Kostermansia, Leptonychiopsis, Maingaya, Mesoptera, Micraeschynanthus, Orchadocarpa, Perakanthus, Perilimnastes, Pernettyopsis, Pycnorhachis, Stenothyrus and Wardenia, and numerous endemic species.  The limestone habitats alone support some 1216 species of vascular plants, 261 of which are endemic and of these about 130 are confined to limestone. Surprisingly the flora has more in common with Sumatra and Borneo than it does with Indochina.

The following accounts for this BioProvince have been written or will be written with particular reference to endemic and locally important species. Accounts available are displayed in green or yellow. Those displayed in red are either in the pipeline or awaiting expert contributions.

 

Index
Major Ecosystems
Endemic Vascular Plant Flora
Bryophyte Flora
Fungus Flora
Lichen Flora
Invertebrate Fauna
Amphibian Fauna
Reptile Fauna
Bird Fauna
Mammal Fauna
Conservation Status