Sulawesi (/ˌsuːlɑːˈweɪsi/),[1] also known as Celebes (/ˈsɛləˌbiːz, səˈliːbiːz/),[2] is one of

the four Greater Sunda Islands. It is governed by Indonesia. The world's eleventh-
largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south
of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Within Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo,
and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger populations.
The landmass of Sulawesi includes four peninsulas: the northern Minahasa Peninsula,
the East Peninsula, the South Peninsula, and the Southeast Peninsula. Three gulfs
separate these peninsulas: the Gulf of Tomini between the northern Minahasa and
East peninsulas, the Tolo Gulf between the East and Southeast peninsulas, and
the Bone Gulf between the South and Southeast peninsulas. The Strait of
Makassar runs along the western side of the island and separates the island from
Borneo.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Geography
o 2.1Minor islands
 3Geology
 4Prehistory
o 4.1Oldest known cave art
 5History
o 5.1Picture gallery
o 5.2Central Sulawesi
 6Population
o 6.1Religion
o 6.2Languages
 7Economy
 8Administration
 9Flora and fauna
o 9.1Mammals
o 9.2Birds
o 9.3Reptiles
o 9.4Amphibians
o 9.5Freshwater fish
o 9.6Freshwater crustaceans and snails
o 9.7Insects
o 9.8Miscellaneous
o 9.9Conservation
 10Environment
o 10.1Parks
 11See also
 12Explanatory notes
 13Citations
 14General sources
 15External links

Etymology[edit]
The name Sulawesi possibly comes from the words sula ("island") and besi ("iron")
and may refer to the historical export of iron from the rich Lake Matano iron
deposits.[3] The name came into common use in English following Indonesian
independence.
The name Celebes was originally given to the island by Portuguese explorers. While
its direct translation is unclear, it might be considered a Portuguese rendering of the
native name "Sulawesi".[4]

Geography[edit]
Sulawesi is the world's eleventh-largest island,[5] covering an area of
180,680.7 km2 (69,761 sq mi). The central part of the island is ruggedly mountainous,
such that the island's peninsulas have traditionally been remote from each other, with
better connections by sea than by road. The three bays that divide Sulawesi's
peninsulas are, from north to south, the Tomini, the Tolo and the Boni.[n 1] These
separate the Minahassa or Northern Peninsula, the East Peninsula, the Southeast
Peninsula and the South Peninsula.
The Strait of Makassar runs along the western side of the island.[9] The island is
surrounded by Borneo to the west, by the Philippines to the north, by Maluku to the
east, and by Flores and Timor to the south.
Minor islands[edit]
The Selayar Islands make up a peninsula stretching southwards from Southwest
Sulawesi into the Flores Sea are administratively part of Sulawesi. The Sangihe
Islands and Talaud Islands stretch northward from the northeastern tip of Sulawesi,
while Buton Island and its neighbors lie off its southeast peninsula, the Togian
Islands are in the Gulf of Tomini, and Peleng Island and Banggai Islands form a
cluster between Sulawesi and Maluku. All the above-mentioned islands and many
smaller ones are administratively part of Sulawesi's six provinces. [10][11]

Geology[edit]

Mount Tongkoko is a volcano in North Sulawesi

The island slopes up from the shores of the deep seas surrounding the island to a
high, mostly non-volcanic, mountainous interior. Active volcanoes are found in the
northern Minahassa Peninsula, stretching north to the Sangihe Islands. The northern
peninsula contains several active volcanoes such as Mount Lokon, Mount
Awu, Soputan and Karangetang.
According to plate reconstructions, the island is believed to have been formed by the
collision of terranes from the Asian Plate (forming the west and southwest) and from
the Australian Plate (forming the southeast and Banggai), with island arcs previously
in the Pacific (forming the north and east peninsulas).[12] Because of its several
tectonic origins, various faults scar the land and as a result the island is prone
to earthquakes.
Sulawesi, in contrast to most of the other islands in the biogeographical region
of Wallacea, is not truly oceanic, but a composite island at the centre of the Asia-
Australia collision zone.[13] Parts of the island were formerly attached to either
the Asian or Australian continental margin and became separated from these areas
by vicariant processes.[13] In the west, the opening of the Makassar Strait separated
West Sulawesi from Sundaland in the Eocene c. 45 Mya.[13] In the east, the traditional
view of collisions of multiple micro-continental fragments sliced from New Guinea with
an active volcanic margin in West Sulawesi at different times since the Early
Miocene c. 20 Mya has recently been replaced by the hypothesis that extensional
fragmentation has followed a single Miocene collision of West Sulawesi with the Sula
Spur, the western end of an ancient folded belt of Variscan origin in the Late
Paleozoic.[13] A powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake on 15 January 2021 resulted in at
least 92 deaths.[14] The epicenter of the earthquake was six kilometers (3.7 miles)
northeast of the city of Majene, at a depth of 10 kilometers.[15]

Prehistory[edit]
See also: Prehistoric Indonesia
The oldest evidence for humans on Sulawesi are stone tools produced by archaic
humans, dating from over 200,000 to 100,000 years ago, that were found at the Talepu
site in southwestern Sulawesi.[16]
Before October 2014, the settlement of South Sulawesi by modern humans had been
dated to c. 30,000 BC on the basis of radiocarbon dates obtained from rock shelters
in Maros.[17] No earlier evidence of human occupation had at that point been found,
but the island almost certainly formed part of the land bridge used for the settlement
of Australia and New Guinea by at least 40,000 BC.[18] There is no evidence of Homo
erectus having reached Sulawesi; crude stone tools first discovered in 1947 on the
right bank of the Walanae River at Barru (now part of Bone Regency), which were
thought to date to the Pleistocene on the basis of their association with vertebrate
fossils,[19] are now thought to date to perhaps 50,000 BC.[20]

Dwelling
Following Peter Bellwood's model of a southward migration of Austronesian-speaking
farmers (AN),[21] radiocarbon dates from caves in Maros suggest a date in the mid-
second millennium BC for the arrival of a group from east Borneo speaking a Proto-
South Sulawesi language (PSS). Initial settlement was probably around the mouth of
the Sa'dan river, on the northwest coast of the peninsula, although the south coast
has also been suggested.[22]
Subsequent migrations across the mountainous landscape resulted in the
geographical isolation of PSS speakers and the evolution of their languages into the
eight families of the South Sulawesi language group. [23] If each group can be said to
have a homeland, that of the Bugis – today the most numerous group – was around
lakes Témpé and Sidénréng in the Walennaé depression. Here for some 2,000 years
lived the linguistic group that would become the modern Bugis; the archaic name of
this group (which is preserved in other local languages) was Ugiq. Despite the fact
that today they are closely linked with the Makassarese, the closest linguistic
neighbors of the Bugis are the Torajans.

Megalith in Central Sulawesi

Pre-1200 Bugis society was most likely organized into chiefdoms.
Some anthropologists have speculated these chiefdoms would have warred and, in
times of peace, interbred. Further, they have speculated that personal security would
have been negligible and head-hunting an established cultural practice. The political
economy would have been a mixture of hunting and gathering and swidden or shifting
agriculture. Speculative planting of wet rice may have taken place along the margins
of the lakes and rivers.
In Central Sulawesi, there are more than 400 granite megaliths, which various
archaeological studies have dated to be from 3000 BC to AD 1300. They vary in size
from a few centimeters to approximately 4.5 meters (15 ft). The original purpose of the
megaliths is unknown. Approximately 30 of the megaliths represent human forms.
Other megaliths are in form of large pots (Kalamba) and stone plates (Tutu'na).[24][25]
A burial of a woman associated with the hunter-gatherer Toalean culture dating to
7,000 years ago has yielded DNA that has provided rare insight into early migrations
in and through the region.[26][27]
Oldest known cave art[edit]
In October 2014, it was announced that cave paintings in Maros had been dated as
being approximately 40,000 years old. One of a hand was 39,900 years old, which
made it "the oldest hand stencil in the world".
Stencils of right hands in Pettakere Cave in Maros are among the oldest known
examples of human artwork
Dr. Maxime Aubert, of Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, said that was the
minimum age for the outline in Pettakere Cave in Maros, and added: "Next to it is a
pig that has a minimum age of 35,400 years old, and this is one of the oldest figurative
depictions in the world, if not the oldest one."[28]
On 11 December 2019, a team of researchers led by Dr. Maxime Aubert announced
the discovery of the oldest hunting scenes in prehistoric art in the world that is more
than 44,000 years old from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu' Sipong 4.
Archaeologists determined the age of the depiction of hunting a pig and buffalo thanks
to the calcite 'popcorn', different isotope levels of
radioactive uranium and thorium.[29][30][31][32][33]
In March 2020, two small stone 'plaquettes' were found by Griffith
University archaeologists in the Leang Bulu Bettue cave, dated to a time between
26,000 and 14,000 years ago.[34] While one of the stones contained an anoa (water
buffalo) and what may be a flower, star, or eye, another depicted astronomic rays of
light.[35][36][37]
In January 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of cave art that is at least
45,500 years old in a Leang Tedongnge cave. According to the journal Science
Advances, the cave painting of a warty pig is the earliest evidence of human settlement
of the region. An adult male pig, measuring 136 cm x 54 cm and what is likely a
Sulawesi or Celebes warty pig (Sus celebensis), was depicted with horn-like facial
warts and two hand prints above its hindquarters.[38] According to co-author Adam
Brumm, there are two other pigs that are partly preserved and it appears the warty pig
was observing a fight between the two other pigs.[39][40][41][42]

History[edit]
Local chief (1872)
A bronze Amaravathi statue was discovered at Sikendeng, South Sulawesi
near Karama river in 1921 which was dated to 2nd-7th century AD by Bosch
(1933).[43] In 1975, small locally made Buddhist statues from 10th-11th century were
also discovered in Bontoharu, on the island of Selayar, South Sulawesi.[44]
Starting in the 13th century, access to prestige trade goods and to sources of iron
started to alter long-standing cultural patterns and to permit ambitious individuals to
build larger political units. It is not known why these two ingredients appeared together;
one was perhaps the product of the other.
In 1367, several identified polities located on the island were mentioned in the
Javanese manuscript Nagarakretagama dated from the Majapahit period. Canto 14
mentioned polities including Gowa, Makassar, Luwu and Banggai. It seems that by the
14th century, polities in the island were connected in an archipelagic maritime trading
network, centered in the Majapahit port in East Java. By 1400, a number of nascent
agricultural principalities had arisen in the western Cenrana valley, as well as on the
south coast and on the west coast near modern Parepare.[45]
The first Europeans to visit the island (which they believed to be an archipelago due
to its contorted shape) were the Portuguese sailors Simão de Abreu in 1523,
and Gomes de Sequeira (among others) in 1525, sent from the Moluccas in search of
gold, which the islands had the reputation of producing. [46][47] A Portuguese base was
installed in Makassar in the first decades of the 16th century, lasting until 1665, when
it was taken by the Dutch. The Dutch had arrived in Sulawesi in 1605 and were quickly
followed by the English, who established a factory in Makassar.[48] From 1660, the
Dutch were at war with Gowa, the major Makassar west coast power. In 1669, Admiral
Speelman forced the ruler, Sultan Hasanuddin, to sign the Treaty of Bongaya, which
handed control of trade to the Dutch East India Company. The Dutch were aided in
their conquest by the Bugis warlord Arung Palakka, ruler of the Bugis kingdom
of Bone. The Dutch built a fort at Ujung Pandang, while Arung Palakka became the
regional overlord and Bone the dominant kingdom. Political and cultural development
seems to have slowed as a result of the status quo.
In 1905, the entire island became part of the Dutch state colony of the Netherlands
East Indies until Japanese occupation in the Second World War. During
the Indonesian National Revolution, the Dutch Captain 'Turk' Westerling led
campaigns in which hundreds, maybe thousands died during the South Sulawesi
Campaign.[49] Following the transfer of sovereignty in December 1949, Sulawesi
became part of the federal United States of Indonesia, which in 1950 became
absorbed into the unitary Republic of Indonesia.[50]
Picture gallery[edit]
 Tandako dancers and a musician in Pasere Maloku, Sulawesi.

 Tandako pajogé dancers from Pasere Maloku, Celebes (now Sulawesi)

 Padjogé dancers in Maros, Sulawesi, in the 1870s.

Tandako pajogé dancers and musicians in Gorontalo, North Celebes, circa 1870s.
Central Sulawesi[edit]

Toraja burial site. Tau-tau, the statue representing the buried people, can be seen in
niches on the cliff.
The Portuguese were rumoured to have a fort in Parigi in 1555. [51] The Kaili were an
important group based in the Palu valley and related to the Toraja. Scholars
relate[citation needed] that their control swayed under Ternate and Makassar, but this might
have been a decision by the Dutch to give their vassals a chance to govern a difficult
group. Padbruge commented that in the 1700s the Kaili population was significantly
high and were a highly militant society. In the 1850s, a civil war erupted between the
Kaili groups, including the Banawa, in which the Dutch colonial government decided
to intervene.[52]
In the late 19th century the Sarasins journeyed through the Palu valley as part of a
major initiative to bring the Kaili under Dutch rule. Some very surprising and interesting
photographs were taken of shamans called Tadulako. Further Christian religious
missions entered the area to make one of the most detailed ethnographic studies in
the early 20th century.[53] A Swede by the name of Walter Kaudern later studied much
of the literature and produced a synthesis. Erskine Downs in the 1950s produced a
summary of Kruyts and Andrianis work: "The religion of the Bare'e-Speaking Toradja
of Central Celebes," which is invaluable for English-speaking researchers. One of the
most recent publications is "When the bones are left," a study of the material culture
of central Sulawesi,[54] offering extensive analysis. Also worthy of study are the brilliant
works of Monnig Atkinson on the Wana shamans who live in the Mori area.

Population[edit]
Population of Sulawesi by province (2020 Census)[55]
South Sulawesi (45.60%)
Central Sulawesi (15.01%)
Southeast Sulawesi (13.19%)
North Sulawesi (13.18%)
West Sulawesi (7.13%)
Gorontalo (5.89%)
The 2000 census population of the provinces of Sulawesi was 14,946,488, about
7.25% of Indonesia's total population.[56] By the 2010 Census the total had reached
17,371,782, and the 2020 Census produced a total of 19,896,951. [57] The official
estimate for mid 2021 was 20,076,987.[58] The largest city on Sulawesi is Makassar.
Religion[edit]
Religion in Sulawesi (2010)[59]
Islam (80.89%)
Christianity (Protestantism 15.7%, Roman Catholic 1.56%) (17.26%)
Hinduism (1.36%)
Buddhism (0.17%)
Other religions (0.09%)
Confucianism (0.01%)
No answer (0.22%)
Islam is the majority religion in Sulawesi. The conversion of the lowlands of the south
western peninsula (South Sulawesi) to Islam occurred in the early 17th century. The
kingdom of Luwu in the Gulf of Bone was the first to accept Islam in February 1605;
the Makassar kingdom of Goa-Talloq, centred on the modern-day city of Makassar,
followed suit in September.[60] However, the Gorontalo and the Mongondow peoples
of the northern peninsula largely converted to Islam only in the 19th century. Most
Muslims are Sunnis.
Christians form a substantial minority on the island. According to
the demographer Toby Alice Volkman, 17% of Sulawesi's population is Protestant and
less than 2% is Roman Catholic. Christians are concentrated on the tip of the northern
peninsula around the city of Manado, which is inhabited by the Minahasa, a
predominantly Protestant people, and the northernmost Sangir and Talaud Islands.
The Toraja people of Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi have largely converted to
Christianity since Indonesia's independence. There are also substantial numbers of
Christians around Lake Poso in Central Sulawesi, among the Pamona speaking
peoples of Central Sulawesi, and near Mamasa.
Though most people identify themselves as Muslims or Christians, they often
subscribe to local beliefs and deities as well.
Smaller communities of Buddhists and Hindus are also found on Sulawesi, usually
among the Chinese, Balinese and Indian communities.
Languages[edit]
Main article: Languages of Sulawesi

Economy[edit]
Main article: Economy of Sulawesi
The economy of Sulawesi is heavily centered around agriculture, fishing, mining, and
forestry.[61]

Administration[edit]
The island was administered as one province between 1945 and 1960. In 1960 it was
divided into two provinces - North and Central Sulawesi, and South and Southeast
Sulawesi. In 1964 both of these were again divided, the former into North Sulawesi
and Central Sulawesi, and the latter into South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.
Today, it is subdivided into six provinces: Gorontalo, West Sulawesi, South
Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi. Among these,
the newest provinces are Gorontalo, established in 2000 from part of North Sulawesi,
and West Sulawesi, established in 2004 from part of South Sulawesi.
The largest cities on the island are the provincial capitals
of Makassar, Manado, Palu, Kendari, and Gorontalo (the provincial capital of West
Sulawesi - the town of Mamuju - is not a city); there are six other cities - Bitung, Palopo,
Bau-Bau, Parepare, Kotamobagu and Tomohun.
 Density Prov
Population Population Population
Area in per km2 City cont
Province (2010 (2020 (mid 2021
km2 (mid the c
Census) Census) estimate)
2021)
Sout
Makassar
South Sulaw
46,717.48 8,034,776 9,073,509 9,139,531 195.6
Sulawesi
North
Manado
West Sulaw
16,787.18 1,158,651 1,419,229 1,436,842 85.6
Sulawesi
Cent
Palu
Central Sulaw
61,841.29 2,635,009 2,985,734 3,021,879 48.9
Sulawesi
Sout
Kendari
Southeast Sulaw
38,067.70 2,232,586 2,624,875 2,659,156 69.9
Sulawesi
North
Bitung
Gorontalo 11,257.07 1,040,164 1,171,681 1,180,948 104.9 Sulaw
North Gorontalo Goro
13,851.64 2,270,596 2,621,923 2,638,631 190.5
Sulawesi
Sout
Palopo
Total Sulaw
188,522.36 17,371,782 19,896,951 20,076,987 106.5
Sulawesi
Sout
Baubau
Sulaw
Sout
Parepare
Sulaw
North
Kotamobagu
Sulaw
North
Tomohon
Sulaw

Flora and fauna[edit]

See also: Sulawesi lowland rain forests and Sulawesi montane rain forests

The colorful bark of Eucalyptus deglupta

Sulawesi is part of Wallacea, meaning that it has a mix of
both Indomalayan and Australasian species that reached the island by crossing deep-
water oceanic barriers.[62][63] The flora includes one native eucalypt, E. deglupta. There
are 8 national parks on the island, of which 4 are mostly marine. The parks with the
largest terrestrial area are Bogani Nani Wartabone with 2,871 km2 and Lore Lindu
National Park with 2,290 km2. Bunaken National Park, which protects a rich coral
ecosystem, has been proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Mammals[edit]
Early in the Pleistocene, Sulawesi had a dwarf elephant and a dwarf form
of Stegodon, (an elephant relative, S. sompoensis);[64] later both were replaced by
larger forms.[65][66] A giant suid, Celebochoerus, was also formerly present.[67] It is
thought that many of the migrants to Sulawesi arrived via the Philippines, while
Sulawesi in turn served as a way station for migrants to Flores.[68] A Pleistocene faunal
turnover is recognized, with the competitive displacement of several indigenous
tarsiers by more recently arriving ones and of Celebochoerus by other medium-sized
herbivores like the babirusa, anoa and Celebes warty pig.[69]

The north Sulawesi babirusa is endemic to Sulawesi.

There are 127 known extant native mammalian species in Sulawesi. A large
percentage, 62% (79 species) are endemic, meaning that they are found nowhere else
in the world. The largest of these are the two species of anoa or dwarf buffalo. Other
artiodactyl species inhabiting Sulawesi are the warty pig and the babirusas, which are
aberrant pigs. The only native carnivoran is the Sulawesi palm civet[67] (Asian
palm and Malayan civets have been introduced[70]). Primates present include a
number of nocturnal tarsiers (T. fuscus, Dian's, Gursky's, Jatna's, Wallace's,
the Lariang and pygmy tarsiers) as well as diurnal macaques (Heck's,
the booted, crested black, Gorontalo, moor, and Tonkean macaques). While most of
Sulawesi's mammals are placental and have Asian relatives, several species
of cuscus, arboreal marsupials of Australasian origin, are also present (Ailurops
ursinus and Strigocuscus celebensis, which are diurnal and nocturnal, respectively).
Sulawesi is home to a large number of endemic rodent genera. Murid rodent genera
endemic to Sulawesi and immediately adjacent islands (such as the Togian
Islands, Buton Island, and Muna Island)
are Bunomys, Echiothrix, Margaretamys, Taeromys and Tateomys as well as the
single-species
genera Eropeplus, Hyorhinomys, Melasmothrix, Paucidentomys, Paruromys, Somme
romys and the semiaquatic Waiomys. All nine sciurids are from three endemic
genera, Hyosciurus, Prosciurillus and Rubrisciurus.
While over 20 bat species are present on Sulawesi, only a portion of these are
endemic: Rhinolophus tatar, Scotophilus celebensis and the megabats Acerodon
celebensis, Boneia bidens, Dobsonia exoleta, Harpyionycteris celebensis, Neopteryx
frosti, Rousettus celebensis and Styloctenium wallacei.
Several endemic shrews, the Sulawesi shrew, Sulawesi tiny shrew and the Sulawesi
white-handed shrew, are found on the island.
Sulawesi has no gliding mammals, being situated between Borneo with
its colugos and flying squirrels, and Halmahera with its sugar gliders.
Birds[edit]

The endemic ornate lorikeet

By contrast, Sulawesian bird species tend to be found on other nearby islands as well,
such as Borneo; 31% of Sulawesi's birds are found nowhere else. One endemic (also
found on small neighboring islands) is the largely ground-dwelling, chicken-
sized maleo, a megapode which sometimes uses hot sand close to the island's
volcanic vents to incubate its eggs. An international partnership of conservationists,
donors, and local people have formed the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation,[71] in
an effort to raise awareness and protect the nesting grounds of these birds on the
central-eastern arm of the island. Other endemic birds include the flightless snoring
rail, the fiery-browed starling, the Sulawesi masked owl, the Sulawesi myna,
the satanic nightjar and the grosbeak starling. There are around 350 known bird
species in Sulawesi.
Reptiles[edit]
The larger reptiles of Sulawesi are not endemic and
include reticulated and Burmese pythons, the Pacific ground boa, king cobras, water
monitors, sailfin lizards,[72] saltwater crocodiles[72][73] and green sea turtles. An extinct
giant tortoise, Megalochelys atlas, was formerly present, but disappeared by 840,000
years ago, possibly because of the arrival of Homo erectus.[64][66] Similarly, komodo
dragons or similar lizards appear to have inhabited the island, being among its apex
predators.[74] The smaller snakes of Sulawesi include nonendemic forms such as the
gliding species Chrysopelea paradisi and endemic forms such
as Calamaria boesemani, Calamaria muelleri, Calamaria
nuchalis, Cyclotyphlops, Enhydris matannensis, Ptyas dipsas, Rabdion
grovesi, Tropidolaemus laticinctus and Typhlops conradi. Similarly, the smaller lizards
of Sulawesi include nonendemic species such as Bronchocela jubata, Dibamus
novaeguineae and Gekko smithii, as well as endemic species such
as Lipinia infralineolata and Gekko iskandari.
Sulawesi also harbours several species of freshwater chelonians, two of which are
endemic. They include the Forsten's tortoise and the Sulawesi forest turtle, both of
which likely attribute their respective origins to the dispersal of the mainland
Asian elongated tortoise and Malayan flat-shelled turtle from the then-exposed
subcontinent of Sundaland during the Pleistocene epoch.
The remaining two species consist of the non-endemic Malayan box turtle of the
Wallacean subspecies, and the Asiatic softshell turtle.
Amphibians[edit]
The amphibians of Sulawesi include the endemic frogs Hylarana celebensis, H.
macrops, H. mocquardi, Ingerophrynus celebensis, Limnonectes arathooni, L.
larvaepartus, L. microtympanum, Occidozyga celebensis, O. semipalmata and O.
tompotika as well as the endemic "flying frogs" Rhacophorus edentulus and R.
georgii.
Freshwater fish[edit]

15 species of viviparous halfbeaks are endemic to Sulawesi, including

12 Nomorhamphus (depicted), Dermogenys orientalis, D. vogti, and Tondanichthys
kottelati.[75][76][77]
Sulawesi is home to more than 70 freshwater fish species,[78] including more than 55
endemics.[79] Among these are the genus Nomorhamphus, a species
flock of viviparous halfbeaks containing 12 species that only are found on Sulawesi
(others are from the Philippines).[75][76] In addition to Nomorhamphus, the majority of
Sulawesi's freshwater fish species are ricefishes, gobies
(Glossogobius and Mugilogobius) and Telmatherinid sail-fin silversides.[79] The last
family is almost entirely restricted to Sulawesi, especially the Malili Lake system,
consisting of Matano and Towuti, and the
small Lontoa (Wawantoa), Mahalona and Masapi. Another [80] unusual endemic
is Lagusia micracanthus from rivers in South Sulawesi, which is the sole member of
its genus and among the smallest grunters.[81] The gudgeon Bostrychus
microphthalmus from the Maros Karst is the only described species of cave-adapted
fish from Sulawesi,[82] but an apparently undescribed species from the same region
and genus also exists.[83]
Freshwater crustaceans and snails[edit]

Orange delight shrimp (Caridina loehae) from Sulawesi.

Many species of Caridina freshwater shrimp and parathelphusid freshwater crabs
(Migmathelphusa, Nautilothelphusa, Parathelphusa, Sundathelphusa and Syntripsa)
are endemic to Sulawesi.[84][85] Several of these species have become very popular in
the aquarium hobby, and since most are restricted to a single lake system, they are
potentially vulnerable to habitat loss and overexploitation.[84][85] There are also several
endemic cave-adapted shrimp and crabs, especially in the Maros Karst. This
includes Cancrocaeca xenomorpha, which has been called the "most highly cave-
adapted species of crab known in the world".[86]
The genus Tylomelania of freshwater snails is also endemic to Sulawesi, with the
majority of the species restricted to Lake Poso and the Malili Lake system.[87]
Insects[edit]
The Trigonopterus selayarensis is a flightless weevil endemic to Sulawesi.[88]
Miscellaneous[edit]
The Indonesian coelacanth and the mimic octopus are present in the waters off
Sulawesi's coast.
Conservation[edit]
Sulawesi island was recently the subject of an Ecoregional Conservation Assessment,
coordinated by The Nature Conservancy. Detailed reports about the vegetation of the
island are available.[89] The assessment produced a detailed and annotated list of
'conservation portfolio' sites. This information was widely distributed to local
government agencies and nongovernmental organizations. Detailed conservation
priorities have also been outlined in a recent publication.[90]
The lowland forests on the island have mostly been removed.[91] Because of the
relative geological youth of the island and its dramatic and sharp topography, the
lowland areas are naturally limited in their extent. The past decade has seen dramatic
conversion of this rare and endangered habitat. The island also possesses one of the
largest outcrops of serpentine soil in the world, which support an unusual and large
community of specialized plant species. Overall, the flora and fauna of this unique
center of global biodiversity is very poorly documented and understood and remains
critically threatened.
The islands of Pepaya, Mas, and Raja islands, located in Sumalata Village – North
Gorontalo Regency (about 30 km from Saronde Island), have been named a nature
reserve since the Dutch colonial time in 1936. Four of the only seven species of sea
turtles can be found in the islands, the world's best turtle habitat. They include penyu
hijau (Chelonia midas), penyu sisik (Eretmochelys imbricata), penyu tempayan
(Caretta caretta) and penyu belimbing (Dermochelys coriacea). In 2011, the habitat
was threatened by human activities such as illegal poaching and fish bombing
activities; furthermore, many coral reefs, which represent a source of food for turtles,
have been damaged.[92]

Environment