Halmahera

This small ecoregion, consisting of Halmahera and associated islands, has the highest endemism rate per area of anywhere in the world. It harbors 26 endemic species and four monotypic (only one species) genera of birds, a reflection of the exceptional level of uniqueness of the bird fauna, many of which are spectacular, such as the ivory-breasted pitta and violet-necked lorry, as well as the iconic standardwing bird-of-paradise. Wallace’s giant bee, the world’s largest bee, also occurs here. This ecoregion represents the moist forests on Halmahera, Morotai, Obi, Bacan, and the other nearby Maluku Islands in the northeastern Indonesian Archipelago. The geologic history of these islands is a very complex mixture of inner volcanic island arcs, outer volcanic island arcs, raised coral reefs, and fragments of continental crust. Halmahera is a product of a collision between two islands approximately 1–2 million years ago