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Marine Diversity in Gorontalo

Indonesia, the world's longest archipelago, runs almost 5,000 kilometers along the equator. As the world's largest reef nation, it contains over 50,000 square kilometers of coral reef. In the middle is the orchid-shaped Sulawesi Island. Northern Sulawesi Island boasts the highest marine biodiversity on the planet. This area includes North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, and the Togian (Togean) Islands.

Sulawesi's northern and eastern arms form the huge Tomini Bay. It contains well over 500 species of hard corals - over ten times the number found in the entire Caribbean basin. In fact, there are an estimated 77 species of Acropora coral here, three of which are endemic. Other endemic species include a little white mantis shrimp and the beautiful Orange-back wrasse (Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis), which was only named in 1999. The newly discovered Togean dottyback (Pseudochromis sp.) is also endemic to Gorontalo and the Togean islands. Many other fishes are common here but less abundant elsewhere and are often missing from fish guidebooks. These include:

• the Yellow-spot slingjaw wrasse (Epibulus sp., soon to be officially named)
• the secretive Gold-cap dottyback (Pseudochromis elongatus)
• the Longfin dottyback (Pseudochromis polynemus)
• the spectacular Harlequin rockcod (Cephalopholis polleni)
• the Pinkeye goby (Bryaninops natans)
• clouds of frenetic Fusilier damsels (Lepidozygus tapeinosoma)
• the nearly transparent Signalfin goby (Fusigobius signipinnis)

Since Miguel’s Diving sent a few samples to the researcher, Gorontalo is also an official home for the new Coleman’s coral shrimp (Vir colemani), named in December 2003. This beautiful purple-jointed creature is common here.

Because of the extreme depth right off the coastline, locals, using only a hand line from tiny wooden outrigger canoes, can catch tuna that outweigh the fisherman. The shell of the Chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) occasionally washes up from the deep. Cetaceans are also sighted passing just off the wall. Miguel's Diving staff has seen:

• the huge Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni)
• the Melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra)
• the False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens)
• the Pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata)
• the Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
• the evil-looking Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris)
• the Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)
• the Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
• the Rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis)
• the ghostly Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus)
• the spectacular Whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

Dive in Gorontalo