Oriental region

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World map showing major faunal regions as defined by mammalian distributions, with each region color-coded: Holarctic in green (including Nearctic and Palearctic), Afro-Tethyan in pink (including Mediterranean, Ethiopian, Oriental, and Madagascan), Latin American in tan (including Neotropical, Argentine, and West Indian), Island in yellow (including Australian and Madagascar). Major region boundaries are marked with bold lines.

Oriental region

faunal region

Also known as: Indian region, Sino-Indian region

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July 1, 2026

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World map showing major faunal regions as defined by mammalian distributions, with each region color-coded: Holarctic in green (including Nearctic and Palearctic), Afro-Tethyan in pink (including Mediterranean, Ethiopian, Oriental, and Madagascan), Latin American in tan (including Neotropical, Argentine, and West Indian), Island in yellow (including Australian and Madagascar). Major region boundaries are marked with bold lines. — Earth's faunal regions System of faunal regions based on a reanalysis of mammalian distributions by Charles H. Smith.

The Oriental region is a zoogeographic area that makes up the eastern half of the Oriental realm, also known as the Indian region. This region is situated where the fauna of the Australian zoogeographic region meets. Southeast Asia, in particular, serves as a transition zone between these two faunal regions.1

The Oriental region is characterized by a diverse array of wildlife, influenced by geological isolation and varied vegetation, especially tropical rainforests. Mammal populations are a key differentiator, with the Oriental region primarily hosting placental mammals, unlike Australia's predominantly marsupial and monotreme fauna. Common mammals include monkeys, apes, tigers, leopards, civets, mongooses, deer, and various species of rhinoceros and elephants. Birds unique to this region include jungle fowl, the source of domesticated chickens, and a significant development of hornbills.123

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Asia
The Oriental region
The greater part of the Oriental region is tropical. The northwestern part is dry and partly desert, so animal life is chiefly confined to the forms related to those of the dry parts of the Ethiopian and Palearctic regions. Elsewhere, monkeys are…
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The greater part of the Oriental region is tropical. The northwestern part is dry and partly desert, so animal life is chiefly confined to the forms related to those of the dry parts of the Ethiopian and Palearctic regions. Elsewhere, monkeys are…
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India
Animal life
…what is known as the Oriental, or Sino-Indian, biogeographic region, which extends eastward from India to include mainland and much of insular Southeast Asia. Its fauna are numerous and highly diverse.
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…what is known as the Oriental, or Sino-Indian, biogeographic region, which extends eastward from India to include mainland and much of insular Southeast Asia. Its fauna are numerous and highly diverse.
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biogeographic region
Oriental region
Endemic families in the Oriental, or Sino-Indian, region include, among mammals, the Tupaiidae (tree shrews), Tarsiidae (tarsiers), and Hylobatidae (gibbons); among reptiles, the Lanthanotidae (earless monitor lizards) and Gavialidae (the crocodile-like gharials); and a few bird and invertebrate families.
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Endemic families in the Oriental, or Sino-Indian, region include, among mammals, the Tupaiidae (tree shrews), Tarsiidae (tarsiers), and Hylobatidae (gibbons); among reptiles, the Lanthanotidae (earless monitor lizards) and Gavialidae (the crocodile-like gharials); and a few bird and invertebrate families.
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Southeast Asia
Animal life
…of what is called the Oriental, or Indian, zoogeographic region (part of the much larger realm of Megagaea). Bordering along the south and east is the Australian zoogeographic region, and the eastern portion of insular Southeast Asia—Celebes (Sulawesi), the Moluccas, and the Lesser Sunda Islands—constitutes a transition zone between these…
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…of what is called the Oriental, or Indian, zoogeographic region (part of the much larger realm of Megagaea). Bordering along the south and east is the Australian zoogeographic region, and the eastern portion of insular Southeast Asia—Celebes (Sulawesi), the Moluccas, and the Lesser Sunda Islands—constitutes a transition zone between these…
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