Newfound species proves Bum Bum island a potential macro dive site

 By Olivia Miwil - July 10, 2021 @ 9:08pm

The discoveries of two new marine species off Bum Bum island here could potentially put it as a macro dive site on the world map. - Pic courtesy of AG AHMAD ZAKI ABU BAKAR

SEMPORNA: The discoveries of two new marine species off Bum Bum island here could potentially put it as a macro dive site on the world map.

A paper titled "Idiomysis bumbumiensis sp. nov., a new mysid species (Mysida, Mysidae, Anisomysini) from Southeast Asia" was recently published in the Zoosystematics and Evolution life science journal on July 9.

Another study "A new species of Cerapus (Amphipoda: Senticaudata: Ischyroceridae) from Pulau Bum Bum, Sabah, Malaysia, with an identification key to Cerapus species" was published in Zootaxa on June 24, 2020.

The findings were made possible due to the volunteer work done involving underwater videographer Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar and the Semporna Tourism Association.

In 2019, the 43-year-old diver produced a commercial video of the macro dive site off Bum Bum island.

Macro diving refers to the act of using special lenses to capture the image of very tiny underwater creatures.

"When it comes to macro diving sites, people would usually go to Indonesia's Lembeh and Philippine's Anilao, which are dubbed as the best places in the world for macro underwater photography.

"The video we made in 2019 was aimed at promoting Bum Bum island as Malaysia has the same potential as its neighbouring countries," Ag Ahmad Zaki said.

He said the footage had attracted Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) researcher Dr Azman Abdul Rahim.

The UKM Marine Ecosystem Research Centre scientist had approached Ag Ahmad Zaki to do further studies of the species shown in the video as it was seen to be a breakthrough discovery.

Ag Ahmad Zaki went back and spent three nights at the same site for field samplings early last year and the hypothesis was proven.

"After a year of research work on these species; and following endorsement from these international bodies, the papers on both species were published.

"The acknowledgement proved Bum Bum island could be a competing macro dive site, similar to other macro dive sites."

He said with the name "Bum Bum" now part of the nomenclature of both of these species; Cerapus bumbumiensis sp and Idiomysis bumbumiensis sp, it would help in branding the island as a diving tourism product in Sabah.