Lake Undun Explained

Undun
Pushpin Map:	Indonesia
Location:	Landu Leko District, Indonesia
Coords:	-10.5156°N 123.3669°W
Basin Countries:	Indonesia
Area:	6388ha^[1]

Undun (Indonesian: Danau Undun)^[2] is a lake on the Indonesian island of Roti in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, in the Lesser Sunda Islands.

Geography

The Undun located in the district Landu Leko (in the Rote Ndao Regency) on the peninsula Tapuafu, which forms the northern part of the island of Roti. To the west is the greater salt lake Usipoka. The nearest town is Kupang.^[1]

Fauna

Only on Undun and Oendui, the lake located to the south of Usipoka, can one find the last extant population of Chelodina mccordi roteensis, a subspecies of the Roti Island snake-necked turtle. The range of the subspecies is confined only to this area due to severe persecution and is also here close to extinction.^[3] Researchers are urgently demanding a reserve, for example, on the peninsula Tapuafu that includes Lakes Usipoka, Undun and Oendui and the surrounding, untouched wetlands of Tanjung Pukuwatu. Since this area has a high biodiversity, it is possible undescribed species could be found in this area.

The area also contains endemic birds and is possibly an important stopover place for migratory birds such as the Australian pelican.^[1]

Notes and References

Web site: Site name: Danau Usipoka - Danau Undun. Wetlands International Indonesia. 2015-05-07.
Rhodin, A. G. J., Ibarrondo, B. R. und Kuchlin, G.: Chelodina mccordi Rhodin 1994 — Roti Island snake-necked turtle, McCord's snake-necked turtle, kura-kura rote in: Rhodin, A. G. J., Pritchard, P. C. H., van Dijk, P. P., Saumure, R. A., Buhlmann, K. A., und Iverson, J.B. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 5, S. 008.1-008.8, (ISSN 1088-7105), 2008.
Eisemberg, C. C. Costa, B. G. Guterres, E. C. Reynolds, S. J. & Christian, K.: Assessment of Chelodina mccordi current status and community awareness along the Lake Iralalaro, Timor-Leste, Report to the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Turtle Conservation Fund, and Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, by the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, 2014.