Lake Matano
Lake Matano (Indonesian: Danau Matano), also known as Matana, is a natural lake in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. With a depth of 590 m (1,940 ft), it is the deepest lake in Indonesia (ranked by maximum depth), and the 10th deepest lake in the world. The surface elevation from mean sea level is only 382 m (1,253 ft), which means that the deepest portion of the lake is below sea level (cryptohollow). It is one of the two major lakes (the other being Lake Towuti) in the Malili Lake system.
Endemic animals and plants
Lake Matano is home to many species of endemic fish and other animals (e.g. Caridina shrimps,Parathelphusid crabs and Tylomelania snails) as well as many plants. The endemic fishes of Matano have been compared to the species swarms of the Rift Valley Lakes of Africa. While not as diverse, they are thought to have all arisen from a single ancestor species and diversified into numerous different species, which now fill many of the previously vacant ecological niches, as can be seen in the family Telmatherinidae. Endemic and near-endemic fishes from other families include Glossogobius matanensis, Mugilogobius adeia, Nomorhamphus weberi and Oryzias matanensis. Many of the endemics are seriously threatened due to pollution and predation/competition from a wide range of introduced fishes, including flowerhorn cichlids.
