Indonesia · Island occurrence guide
Wetar is a rugged island above deep straits, with seasonally dry forest and a remote inland lake. Its ecological character is closely linked to Timor, while its administrative home is Maluku.
4 linked species accounts · Southwestern Maluku, north of Timor
Geography & landscape
Timor lies across Wetar Strait to the south and Alor beyond Ombai Strait to the west. The main island stretches east–west, with scattered coastal settlements including Ilwaki, Lioppa and Wasiri. Small Liran lies offshore to the southwest.
Drag to explore. Use + / − or pinch to zoom. Terrain shows relief and contours; Street map shows detailed coastlines, settlements and roads. Markers locate islands, not snake sightings.
Open larger mapHow the land took shape
Wetar stands within the Banda arc region, where plate convergence has uplifted and deformed older crust. Its relief should be distinguished from Gunungapi Wetar, the separate volcanic island offshore to the north. The main island’s mountain landscape drops toward reef-fringed coasts and deep surrounding water.
Across the seasons
Rainfall is strongly seasonal. Much of the broadleaf forest loses part of its canopy during drier months, while higher ridges and better-watered sites support moister vegetation. This seasonality gives Wetar a different appearance from the wetter islands farther north in Maluku.
Connections & isolation
Wetar belongs to the Timor–Wetar deciduous forest ecoregion. Its isolation has produced distinctive birds, including the Wetar figbird, within a wider Wallacean assemblage. Forest structure and seasonal water availability are central to understanding these terrestrial habitats.
Wetar · Environments
Explore the environments described for Wetar. Habitat descriptions do not assign every snake in the island list to each setting.
Partly deciduous woodland is characteristic of Wetar, with leaf loss responding to the dry season.
Read the habitat guideHigher ridges provide wetter wooded settings within the island’s predominantly seasonal environment.
Read the habitat guideThe inland lake supplies a freshwater landscape unlike the steep coastal valleys and surrounding straits.
Around Wetar
Also written Thiu, Wetar’s lake is a distinctive interior landmark.
A settlement on the south coast facing Timor across Wetar Strait.
The deep western passage separates Wetar from Alor.
Read the original scope
Choose an account recorded in Wetar. Its country-level evidence retains the named islands and qualifications; it is not a record of a sighting at an exact map point.
Recorded in Indonesia: Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Komodo, Flores, Alor, Roti, Semau; Wetar.
The shared collection
Each card opens the same species account used by the country lists. A shared island record does not imply occurrence in all countries sharing that island.
(SCHLEGEL, 1837)
ROUX, 1911
BOULENGER, 1897
KRAMER, 1977
Further reading · Checked 7 October 2026
Species-specific distribution evidence appears above and in each linked account.