Data from: Paleoenvironments shaped the exchange of terrestrial vertebrates across Wallace’s Line

Faunal turnover in Indo-Australia across Wallace’s Line is one of the most
recognizable patterns in biogeography and has catalyzed debate about the
role of evolutionary and geoclimatic history in biotic interchanges. Here,
analysis of over 20,000 vertebrate species with a model of geoclimate and
biological diversification shows that broad precipitation tolerance and
dispersal ability were key for exchange across the deep-time precipitation
gradient spanning the region. Sundanian (Southeast Asian) lineages evolved
in a climate similar to the humid ‘stepping stones’ of Wallacea,
facilitating colonization of the Sahulian (Australian) continental shelf.
In contrast, Sahulian lineages predominantly evolved in drier conditions,
hampering establishment in Sunda, and shaping faunal distinctiveness. We
demonstrate how the history of adaptation to past environmental conditions
shapes asymmetrical colonization and global biogeographic structure.
Faunal turnover in Indo-Australia across Wallace’s Line is one of the most
recognizable patterns in biogeography and has catalyzed debate about the
role of evolutionary and geoclimatic history in biotic interchanges. Here,
analysis of over 20,000 vertebrate species with a model of geoclimate and
biological diversification shows that broad precipitation tolerance and
dispersal ability were key for exchange across the deep-time precipitation
gradient spanning the region. Sundanian (Southeast Asian) lineages evolved
in a climate similar to the humid ‘stepping stones’ of Wallacea,
facilitating colonization of the Sahulian (Australian) continental shelf.
In contrast, Sahulian lineages predominantly evolved in drier conditions,
hampering establishment in Sunda, and shaping faunal distinctiveness. We
demonstrate how the history of adaptation to past environmental conditions
shapes asymmetrical colonization and global biogeographic structure.