ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Yellowtail parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne)
A dive briefing · Aruba

Indiaanskop

Dive site off Aruba. Here's what has been recorded at this site month by month, how the region’s reefs have weathered ocean heat, and how to prepare.

Arubareef
Near this sitegeotagged about 1.5 km from the site coordinates Yellowtail parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne) · Carrie Seltzer · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Scattered pore rope sponge (Aplysina fulva)
Chapter I · Arrival

Indiaanskop: dive site off Aruba.

~12.417° N~69.900° W · Wikidata
183open records · GBIF
6species recorded
Near this sitegeotagged about 2.0 km from the site coordinates Scattered pore rope sponge (Aplysina fulva) · Carrie Seltzer · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
II

Entry

Scattered pore rope sponge (Aplysina fulva)

Entry points, depths, currents and any local rules will be added once we can verify them from official sources.

Approximate positionThese coordinates come from a crowd-sourced map or Wikidata item, not an official mooring list. Use them for orientation only.
To verifyDepth range, entry points and current notes. We publish them only with a citation. The coordinates mark the site in general, not a mooring or entry point.

Near this sitegeotagged about 2.0 km from the site coordinates Scattered pore rope sponge (Aplysina fulva) · Carrie Seltzer · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Yellowtail parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne)
Open media · Near this sitegeotagged about 1.5 km from the site coordinates Yellowtail parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne) · Carrie Seltzer · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Indiaanskop rises to meet you.

Yellowtail parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne)
IV

What lives here, by month

Pick a month. These are the species most often recorded within about a kilometre in that month, from open survey records.

Oct
October · 0 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Speck-claw decorator crab
Calyptolana hancocki
Macrocoeloma diplacanthum
Iridonida angulata
Colomastix halichondriae
Colomastix bousfieldi

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Calyptolana hancocki (2)
  2. Speck-claw decorator crab (2)
  3. Iridonida angulata (1)
  4. Colomastix halichondriae (1)
  5. Colomastix bousfieldi (1)
  6. Macrocoeloma diplacanthum (1)

GBIF.org (2026-10-15), occurrence records within ~1 km, licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0 only. Birds and land animals are excluded. Counts reflect survey effort, not abundance. 183 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

V

Forty-one summers of heat

Each stripe is one year since 1985, colored by its peak heat stress across NOAA's “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-131.3°C-weeks · NOAA status: Bleaching Warning

NOAA CRW virtual station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”. NOAA's alert thresholds are 4 °C-weeks (Alert Level 1) and 8 °C-weeks (Alert Level 2). Station page · Method. Credit: NOAA Coral Reef Watch.

Peak per year · dashed lines at 4, 8 and 16 °C-weeks
The past twelve months
VI

Conditions

Average sea temperature through the year. Check the live readings before you go.

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” station climatology (monthly means).

Departamento Meteorologico Aruba · forecasts →

Buoy readings are measurements; forecasts are models. Use them for planning only, and assess conditions on site. Depth and visibility data aren't listed until we can cite a source.

VII

Plan & prepare

  1. Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
  2. Confirm access, hours and any fees with the site.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
  3. Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
  4. Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

Credits

Coordinates
Wikidata Q21972931 (CC0). Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) features. Approximate positions; two use the named bay or island nearby.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 178, CC0_1_0: 5
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (175 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NMNH Extant Specimen Records (USNM, US) · doi:10.15468/hnhrg3 (5 records) · GBIF
Dataset
University of Miami, Voss Marine Invertebrate Collections · doi:10.15468/qmckjq (3 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=12.40667,12.42667&decimalLongitude=-69.91000000000001,-69.89&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&taxonKey=44&taxonKey=206&taxonKey=229&taxonKey=136&taxonKey=225&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&limit=0
Heat stress & SST
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 5 km Regional Virtual Station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”
Hero photo
Near this sitegeotagged about 1.5 km from the site coordinates Yellowtail parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne) · Carrie Seltzer · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Arrival photo
Near this sitegeotagged about 2.0 km from the site coordinates Scattered pore rope sponge (Aplysina fulva) · Carrie Seltzer · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources