Orangutans in Gorontalo

Indonesia is famous for its orangutans in the jungles of Sumatra and Kalimantan. But Indonesian waters are the habitat of a special type of decorator crab, Achaeus japonicus. Commonly called Orangutan crab, this marine crab has long hairs on its body to which it attaches small particles, often filamentous algae. With its disguise complete, only its eyes remain uncovered. In Gorontalo we have found it on bubble coral, as in the picture from the Sentinels dive site. On a single dive this season we found one at 40 meters on the tanker wreck and another one on the coral wall above. Both were draped in the folds of bubble coral. Last week we found at least four.

Dory & the Devil

This week one of the stars of Finding Nemo made her appearance. Yes, we saw Dory! Although quite common in western Gorontalo, only a single Palette surgeonfish (Paracanthurus hepatus) has been found on all the dive sites that Miguel’s offers. Dory turned up about a month ago as a baby hiding among an Acropora coral at the reef crest and about the size of a coin. We found her again still hiding, but having grown to about five centimeters.

Also making its come back was a devil ray (Mobula sp.). Last month these manta-like rays made some spectacular appearances here in Gorontalo. During our surface interval after encountering Dory, a meter-long devil ray splashed out of the water near the dive boat in full view of the guests. It jumped out of the water three times on its way out of a small bay.

Yes, We Are Operating

The winds that have prevented diving in North Sulawesi’s Bunaken Marine Park part of this past week also affected Tomini Bay. Guests tell us that dive operators are transporting guests to the quieter waters of Lembeh Strait. Also, diving in the Togian Islands has been limited because of bad waves. Although the far point here is still being hit by waves, dive sites near Gorontalo City and an alternate location we use to the west have flat, calm water. Visibility is 12 - 15 meters. Water temperature has dropped to 27 degrees Celsius because of cold upwellings usually coinciding with the new moon. Guests today were thrilled to be able to dive and loved Gorontalo’s distinctive Salvador Dali sponges. One guest’s screams were clearly audible underwater when she finally saw the tiny (3 mm) purple-spotted pink shrimp discovered here among a certain type of bubble coral; it is not yet scientifically described.

A Long Way to Swim

While not below the water, Miguel’s Diving staff are busily preparing for this year’s Asian Diving Exhibition (ADEX) in Singapore April 16 - 18. In revising all the profiles on the 14 dive sites currently offered, an astounding fact surfaced: the horizontal length of those dive sites totals 4,976 meters. Divers in Gorontalo have nearly five horizontal kilometers of dive sites to enjoy! That does not include the alternate sites we have used when winds blow from the southwest. This season we added two wrecks, although these do not yet appear on the web site. Maps of these wrecks are in process. For next season, we are planning to add three additional sites: a sand pit for all you photographers, a recently discovered sunken hill, and a giant staircase where currents swirl.

Vase of Zebras

During the safety stop recently at the City Limits dive site, we discovered five Zebra lionfish (Dendrochirus zebra). They were tucked in various folds of a huge Vase sponge that was growing on the upper wall. This fish is not common here. It has large, webbed pectoral fins that lack the free filamentous rays typical of other lionfishes, such as Pterois volitans. Also, its body stripes are much wider. This fish has also been sited at other Gorontalo dive sites.

Starry Night

Upon request, Miguel’s Diving can organize night diving, such as last night’s dive at Alleyways. Upon entering the water along the shallow sand shelf, our dive lights were swarmed by countless white worms. We discovered that anemones like to eat these, but that anemonefish just want to sleep. Marine encounters included an octopus, a squid, a slipper lobster, a ray, a moray eel, a scorpionfish, numerous lionfish, a Banded pipefish (Doryrhamphus dactyliophorus), several Bearded rocklings (Brotula multibarbata), and a Basket star (Astroba sp.), perched high on a coral head. Deep sleepers included numerous goatfish scattered on the sand and a large parrotfish tucked under some coral. The reef was crawling with crabs and shrimps, including many Barred saron shrimp (Saron marmoratus) and a spectacular Decorator crab (Camposcia retusa). The five nudibranchs sited included Asteronotus cespitosus, whose name means "latrine hole!" We surfaced under a moonless sky blazing with stars.

Chasing Vagabonds under a Rainbow

For a second afternoon in a row, Miguel’s Diving took guests to the City Limits dive site, only a five-minute boat ride. Today after looking at the tanker wreck, we were doing a long safety stop along the diverse coral wall. Our dive master located yet another colony of Pinkeye gobies (Bryaniops natans). Most amusing were two pairs of Vagabond butterflyfish (Chaetodon vagabundus) playing tag. A pair would slowly chase each other in a tight circle, then one would dash away with its partner in hot pursuit. Then they would resume their circle dance. Both pairs endlessly repeated this same behavior. With safety stop completed, we broke the surface of the calm ocean to see the entire arc of a rainbow.

Waiting at the Deep Point

Gorontalo?s Honeycomb dive site can make for rather athletic diving, given that it follows a deep, submerged point that juts into an often-ripping long shore current. The plan for the first dive was to approach the point from the west and merely hang out in the 20-meter range, watching what passed. It was quite a show. Blue-head filefish (Hoplolatilus starcki), usually seen in pairs above their sand burrows, were hovering by the dozens high above the substrate to feed in the current. Another resident of deep waters, Gilded triggerfish (Xanthichthys auromarginatus) swam in groups close to the scattered coral below.

A very dense school of amazingly blue Redtooth triggers (Odonus niger) swarmed in the plankton-rich current. A pair of intrepid Napol.ean wrasse rose from below the second wall for a closer look at the source of those strange bubbles. A quick glance up at the five-meter reef crest revealed a Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) casually viewing its realm. A Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) shot by. Dense schools of Single-spined unicornfish (Naso thynnoides) ambled back and forth along the wall. Just as the current quickened, a White-spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari) complete with remora sailed by. How much comes to those who wait!

More Manta Tales

Right before sunset on February 29th, more than ten Shortfin devil rays (Mobula kuhlii) were jumping in the small bay where the Sentinels dive site is located. Large schools of tiny fish also filled these waters. In fact, local fishermen had just netted many bucketfuls for sale in the local market. Not only were the devil rays jumping, but they also grabbed the anchor line of a midsize wooden fishing boat. Three times residents in the tiny fishing village had to pull back on the land line to prevent the devil rays from pulling the boat out to sea. The rays had already pulled a mooring buoy away.

Fishermen here are very familiar with this particular ray and can describe it in detail. It is about one meter across and colored dark brown above and white below. Its tiny doral fin is white-tipped. Its small tail has no stinger. It is called bumengo in Gorontalo language.