SupaWallace escapades

Dandandan, Distracted.

Sulawesi is the most active tectonic region in the world. It’s constantly being accreted and divided.
Formed from several very large pieces, the island cops consistent tectonic pressure from all directions.
Nothofagus as we know evolved around 80mya in the late Cretaceous Period.
It’s dispersal after the break up of Gondwana left it in the the Australo/Papuan
( Australian Plate ) , formerly Sahul, Pacific Plate Oceanic regions in places such as Tasmania, Australian mainland, New Caledonia, NZ, Chile and Argentina

Early Miocene around 20 mya , a large promontory, the Sahul Spur which was a continuation of the Australian continental margin in New Guinea collided with the Nth Sulawesi volcanic arc.

Did Nothofagus make that journey, that’s the question?
Similarly, Eucalyptus deglupta made its way to Sulawesi, it’s assumed seed dispersal was via animals, water currents and or wind.
Did this occur in inter glacial or periods of glaciation approximately 18,000 years ago.
Eucalyptus urophylla on Timor also made its way north via natural processes.
I’d love to hear more about what others think of my photo.
Annually I visit the Otway Ranges to witness the Nothofagus change colour during their deciduous period, I think I’ve got a pretty good idea of what the leaf morphology looks like, but I stand to be corrected. Good stuff. AW