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During
his eight years in the Malay region, Wallace covered around 14,000 mile
and amassed 125,000 specimens. He is a perfect example of the Victorian
collecting naturalist, who made their career and reputation from detailed
field studies. As well as contributing to the general understanding of
the region, Wallace's studies led to him formulating the theory of biogeography.
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He drew an imaginary
line between islands in the "Malay Archipelago", indicating a natural separation
between Asian and Australian species. He believed that as the life forms
of these areas were so distinct, they must have arisen separately. Today,
his original line has been moved, but it is named the 'Wallace line' in
his honour. |
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