Sipadan

Sipadan, off the northeast coast of Borneo, is well-known for turtles. There are also many whitetip reef sharks, bumphead parrotfish and many other species. The wall offshore drops straight off to two thousand feet from chest-deep water, a great place for a beach dive.

The wall:

Turtles:

turtle Charlotte and a turtle turtle turtle silhouetteGreen sea turtle, Chelonia mydas

We saw turtles on just about every dive. People told us the number of turtles had declined and there used to be more, but for us they were really easy to find and photograph. The second photo shows Charlotte moving in for a shot.

Sharks:

whitetip reef shark whitetip reef shark Whitetip reef shark, Triaenodon obesus

We saw plenty of sharks but they did not get too close. The exception was on our checkout dive where a shark swam in with a school of jacks. The jacks rubbed against the coarse skin of the shark to remove parasites. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take our cameras on the checkout dive. And of course we never saw this behavior again.

Parrotfish:

bumphead parrotfish bumphead parrotfish Bumphead parrotfish, Bolbometopon muricatum

These huge bumphead parrotfish, Bolbometopon muricatum, were sleeping in nooks in the wall just in front of the resort. They were there for several nights and then they were all gone.

Clownfish:

clownfish in anemone clownfish with eggs Clark's anemonefish, Amphiprion clarkii, and closeup with eggs

clownfish clownfish False clown anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris

More clownfish with their anemones:

Pink anemonefish, Amphiprion perideraion

Three-spot dascyllus, Dascyllus trimaculatus

Angelfish:

angelfish Six-banded angelfish, Pomocanthus sexstriatus

Yellow-mask angelfish, Pomacanthus xanthometopon

Regal angelfish, Pygoplites diacanthus

Trevally:

jacks Bigeye trevally, Caranx sexfasciatus

Triggerifish:

titan triggerfish Titan triggerfish, Balistoides viridescens

These triggerfish are extremely aggressive if they have a nest full of eggs.

Clown triggerfish, Balistoides conspicillum

Yellowmargin triggerfish, Pseudobalistes flavimarginatus

Orange-lined triggerfish, Balistapus undulatus

Goatfish:

fish Island goatfish, Parupeneus insularis

Lionfish:

lionfish Common lionfish, Pterois volitans

lionfish Spotfin lionfish, Pterois antennata

Butterflyfish:

pyramid butterflyfish Pyramid butterflyfish, Hemitaurichthys polylepis

Ornate butterflyfish, Chaetodon ornatissimus

Teardrop butterflyfish, Chaetodon unimaculatus

Pennant bannerfish, Heniochus chrysostomus

Panda butterflyfish, Chaetodon adiergastos

Humphead bannerfish, Heniochus varius (left)

Longnose butterflyfish, Forcipiper flavissimus

Raccoon butterflyfish, Chaetodon lunula

Unicornfish:

unicorn fish Bignose unicornfish (dark phase), Naso vlamingti

Whitemargin unicornfish, Naso annulatus

Puffers:

Blackspotted puffer, Arothron nigropunctatus

Star puffer, Arothron stellatus

Moorish idol, Zanclus cornutus:

Hawkfish:

Freckled hawkfish, Paracirrhites forsten

Sweetlips:

Diagonal-banded sweetlips, Plectorhinchus lineatus

Many-spotted sweetlips, Plectorhincus chaetodonoides

Eels:

Giant moray, Gymnothorax javanicus

Yellowmargin moray, Gymnothorax flavimarginatus

Wrasses:

Rockmover wrasse, Novaculichthys tsaeniourus (JP)

Humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus (IP)

Redbreasted wrasse, Cheilinus fasciatus

Longnose hogfish, Bodianus prognathus

Other fish:

Bluefin trevally, Caranx melampygus

[as yet unidentified]

Pickhandle barracuda, Sphyraena jello

Flasher scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis macrochir

Whitespot cardinalfish, Apogon dispar

Indo-Pacific sergeant, Abudefduf vaigiensis

Bridled monocle bream, Scolopsis bilineatus

Golden damsel, Amblyglyphidodon aureus

Striped surgeonfish, Acanthurus lineatus

Pacific sailfin tang, Zebrasoma veliferum

Blackstripe cardinalfish, Apogon nigrofasciatus

Coral grouper, Cephalopholis miniata

Leopard grouper, Cephalopholis leopardus

Whitespot soldierfish, Myripristis woodsi

Pinnate spadefish, Platax pinnatus

Golden spadefish, Platax boersii

Highfin coral grouper, Plectropomus oligacanthus

Crescent-tail bigeye, Priacanthus hamrur

Bluestreak fusilier, Pterocaesio tile

[as yet unidentified]

Whitetip soldierfish, Myripristis vittata

[as yet unidentified]

Reticulated dascyllus, Dascyllus reticulatus

[as yet unidentified]

Humpnose bigeye bream, Monotaxis grandoculis

Midnight snapper, Macolor macularis

Blue-green chromis, Chromis viridis

Ambon damsel, Pomacentrus amboinensis

anthias Anthias, Pseudanthis sp.

school Blue and yellow fusilier, Caesio teres

Nudibranchs:

nudibranch Diana's chromodoris, Chromodoris dianae

We found nudibranchs like this one along the wall in front of the resort.

Willan's chromodoris, Chromodoris willani

Sea cucumbers:

Lampert's sea cucumber, Symaptula lamperti

Lion's paw sea cucumber, Euapta godeffroyi

Bohadschia sp.

Lobster:

Painted spiny lobster, Panulinus versicolor

Shrimps:

Reticulated hinge-beak shrimp, Cinetorhynchus reticulatus

Banded coral shrimp, Stenopus hispidus

Crabs:

Convex crab, Carpilius convexus

Anemone hermit crab, Dardanus pedunculatus

Worms:

Indian feather-duster worm, Sabellastarte indica

Sea stars:

Old Club Sea Star, Mithrodia clavigera

Nardoa sp.

NOTE: we are not experts on these species. If you find that we have misidentified something, or can identify one that we could not, please let us know and we will correct this page.

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Last modified 10 June 2025