snakes. Most sea snakes (family Hydrophiidae) never come onto land at all, even giving birth at sea. There are some 60 species of sea snakes in the world, over half of which are found in Indonesia. They tend to be patchily distributed very common In some areas and absent form others, As reptiles; they must come up for air although they have a very large lung and can stay under for many hours.
Sea snakes can be seen underwater poking their small heads into cracks and crevices, searching for small fish and crustaceans. The head of a sea snake is often difficult to distinguish from the tail as both are blunt, although the head is always smaller, and the tail is laterally flattened to aid in swimming.
Sea snakes are equipped with extremely toxic venom which can be delivered through two short fangs on the upper jaw. The venom is used to subdue prey such as spiny fish or moray eels, which could cause the snake considerable damage if not killed very quickly. Since fish are quite resistant to most toxins, it is not surprising that sea snake venom is so strong.
Sea snakes are rarely aggressive towards divers, however, and unprovoked attacks are virtually unknown. They are sometimes inquisitive however, and may inspect a diver.
The grey-and-black banded colubrine or amphibious sea snake (Laticauida colubrina) is common in Indonesia This animal—collected in huge numbers in the Philippines for its skin—It is an inoffensive creature, and slow to anger. Guides often catch the animals for their clients to pose with We don't suggest you try this, however.
The yellow -bellied sea snake (Pelamis platurus) is the most numerous reptile on earth. This colorful animal is so completely adapted to anaquatic life that if washed ashore, it will die. It cannot even crawl back to the water.
Crocodiles. One marine reptile that is truly dangerous is the salt water crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). These monsters can grow to many meters in length, although real giants are very rare these days. Fortunately for divers they usually live in murky estuarine areas, not on coral reefs. Saltwater crocodiles are found in Irian Jaya, and in scattered locations in Maluku.
Marine Mammals
While common enough in Indonesian waters, sea mammals are rarely seen while diving, and swimming with whales or dolphins is a rare occasion indeed for a diver.
Dolphins. Schools of dolphins are a frequent sight while traveling out to dive sites by boat. Sometimes their "whistling" can be heard during a dive (a sound that is sometimes uncannily like a leaking air cylinder) but they will normally stay well beyond the range of visibility. The best way to see them underwater is to snorkel from the dive boat when a school is encountered in deep water. Usually they will move away, but you could get lucky.
There are several dolphin species in Indonesia and identifying them at sea is a far from easy task. Common species here include the spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris), so-called because of its characteristic high, spinning jumps; the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), which has a black-tipped snout, and a crisscross pattern on its flanks; and the spotted dolphin, with a pattern of fine spots on its sides.
Whales. Several species of large whales also occur in Indonesia, some arriving seasonally from polar regions, others being year-round residents. Like dolphins they are best watched from a boat rather than the water. Some whales breed in Indonesian waters, so it is very important not to harass them by chasing them in boats.
Most of the species seen are plankton-eating baleen whales which have vertical spouts and a small, but distinct, dorsal fin. They might be distinguished on the basis of size, but this requires some experience. The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is known in Indonesian waters, as are several smaller but very similar species, including the fin whale (B. physalus) and minke whale (B. acutorostrata). The humpback, (Megaptera novaeangliae), is easier to identify.
The sperm whale (Physeter catodon), of Moby Dick fame, is a very different animal. These are toothed whales, which feed on giant squid and fish snatched from great depths. The sperm whale has a characteristic forward pointing spume and hump-like ridges rather than a dorsal fin on its back. Pygmy and dwarf sperm whales (Kogis) also inhabit Indonesian waters.
Dugong. It is very unlikely that a diver will see this rare animal. The dugong or sea cow (Dugong dugon) is a slow-moving animal, up to 2.5 meters long, that looks like a walrus without the tusks. There are only three other members of order Sirenia, manatees from Florida, the Amazon basin and West Africa.
The dugong is the only herbivorous marine mammal, and is strictly aquatic. The animals can eat 10 percent of their body weight a day in sea grasses, and are found mainly in sheltered bays where these plants grow.
Dugongs are threatened throughout their range, because they are slow-moving, easy targets for hunters—their tusks are used for cigaret holders—and because they take so long to reproduce. Calving takes place only once every 3-7 years, and dugongs take 15 years to mature.
— Charles Anderson and
David Pickett
Footnote
* Australia, chiefly because it includes both tropical and colder-water habitats, hosts the most damselfish species, 132.
A school of sleek unicornfish, Naso hexacanthus. Photograph by Ed Robinson of IKAN. Manado, Sulawesi.
A pair of spine-cheeked anemonefish, Premnas biaculeatus, in their host anemone, Entacmaea quadri-color. Photograph by Helmut Debelius of IKAN. Flores.
Introducing the Island of Java
Lush and populous Java—together with Bali the most familiar of Indonesia's many islands—is the political, cultural and industrial heart of the island nation. Some 115 million people live on Java, almost two-thirds of Indonesia's total population on just 7 percent of the nation's land area.
The island is rugged and volcanic, and its rich soil makes it one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. In Dutch colonial times, Java was called 'The Garden of the East."
Jakarta
The Ibu Kota—literally "Mother City"—of Indonesia is Jakarta, on the northwest coast of Java. With more than 10 million inhabitants, it is one of the world's biggest cities. Jakarta is the fourth most densely populated city in the world, more dense, even, than Bombay. This richness of humanity—or crush, depending on your outlook—is essential to Jakarta's bustling (and hustling) charm.
History of Java
Java, which until 10,000 years ago was connected together with Sumatra and Borneo to the southeast Asian mainland, is one of the world's earliest populated spots. In 1894, Dutch naturalist Eugene Dubois announced that he had discovered a "Java apeman," the first known fossil remains of what scientists now call Homo erectus.
Between "Java Man," who lived more than 1 million years ago, and the first Bronze Age Javanese, who lived 2,000 years ago, there is little surviving archaeological record on Java. The ancestors of modern-day Melanesians and the Australian aboriginals are thought to have passed through Java some 50,000 years ago. But the ancestors of today's Javanese were the Austronesians, the region's great seafarers and most successful settlers, who moved into Java about 5,000 years ago.
