Boundaries

This ecoregion includes Sabah (Malaysia) and the Sebuku, Sembakung and Sesayap basins in North Kalimantan (Indonesia).

Terrestrial habitats

Terrestrial ecoregions include Borneo montane rain forests [IM0103], Borneo lowland rain forests [IM0102], Kinabalu montane alpine meadows [IM1001], Borneo peat swamp forests [IM0104], Sundaland heath forests [IM0161], and Sunda Shelf mangroves [IM1405].

Description of endemic fishes

The ecoregion contains 40 endemics, which represent more than 25% of the species. Fifteen of these are cyprinids, followed by Osphronemidae with five species, and Bagridae, Balitoridae, Pangasiidae, Siluridae and Tetraodontidae with three species each.

Justification for delineation

For Southeast Asia, delineations were determined using a bottom-up approach that employed both published and unpublished field data and expert assessment (Abell et al. 2008; Inger & Chin 1962; Martin-Smith & Tan 1998).  This ecoregion is characterized by a relatively depauperate fauna, with a relatively high endemism ratio. When more accurate data become available, the region may need to be divided further into possibly a western and eastern slope (M. Kottelat pers. comm. 2006).