eTawau > Environment > Tanah Merah Mangrove Coast

Tanah Merah Mangrove Coast

The mangrove forest on the coast at Tanah Merah, Kampung Merotai Besar, Tawau — and the sawmills, prawn ponds and plantations that have been built on it

Tanah Merah is the low, seaward end of Kampung Merotai Besar, the village on the road from Tawau to Kalabakan, 29.6 km from the 0 km Tawau landmark by Jalan Utara (Google Maps). Here the land runs down into mangrove forest along the coast and the Merotai River.

Parts of that mangrove coast have been cleared and built on. What stands there now is a working landscape: plantations, ponds and timber yards with the mangrove still around and behind them. On this site, everything recorded at Ikutmaju Sawmill, Eda Sawmill or the Merotai Tiger Prawn Farm is placed under one name, Tanah Merah Mangrove Coast, because all three were developed on this same stretch of mangrove.

A large square prawn pond with red earth banks, a wooden hut on the far bank and a line of mangrove trees behind. — Prawn ponds at Merotai, with the mangrove behind. 27 February 2005, 10:24.

A wooden house raised on stilts at Tanah Merah, among trees. — A wooden house at Tanah Merah. 3 December 2008, 17:05.

What has been built on the mangrove

Oil palm plantations.
Merotai Tiger Prawn Farm at Tanah Merah: a private smallholding, made on swamp running down to the sea. It is about the size of three football fields, with ten ponds. The 2014 spider pages call it "the Merotai prawn farm".
A bird's nest (swiftlet) farm.
Eda Sawmill, stopped operating in 2010. Its log yard, once bare ground, has grown back under grass.
Ikutmaju Sawmill, next door to Eda Sawmill. Its bushes are about 100 m from the wet mangrove, and damselflies, dragonflies and many other insects are about.

At a glance

Where: Tanah Merah, Kampung Merotai Besar, Tawau District, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
Habitat: Coastal mangrove along the Merotai River, partly cleared for plantations, prawn ponds and sawmills.
Records on this site: Twenty-one dated records, 2006–2014: insects, spiders, a millipede and a dragonfly (listed below).
Name used for records: Tanah Merah Mangrove Coast (with the sawmill or farm named as the exact spot).

Recent records

Striped Nomia, Nomia strigata (Halictidae) — Ikutmaju Sawmill, 24 June 2009, 14:20.
A small bee with shining rainbow bands, resting on a blade of long grass before it flew off. There are only a few small flower plots here, yet bees still come. Species record

Asian weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina (Formicidae) — Ikutmaju Sawmill, 24 June 2007, 11:24.
About twenty workers holding a weevil by its legs and head on a white-painted water pipe, hurrying it towards their nest. Species record

Tortoise beetle, Aspidimorpha (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) — Ikutmaju Sawmill garden, 25 August 2009, 14:08.
Golden yellow with black spots inside a clear rim; taken at first for a ladybird, then it flew off. Species record

Cross-lined wave moth caterpillar, Traminda aventiaria (Geometridae) — Eda Sawmill log yard, 7 December 2012, 14:02.
A looper that never kept still, arching and stretching along the edge of a leaf. Species record

Fungus weevil, Acanthothorax (Anthribidae) — Ikutmaju Sawmill, 3 May 2007, 13:31.
About 24 mm, found on the ground; a broad flat snout, straight antennae and a velvety mottled coat. Species record

Round-necked longhorn beetle (Cerambycinae) — Eda Sawmill log yard, 28 July 2009, 12:20.
About 6 cm, lying on the ground of the log yard; golden pronotum with a spine on each side. Species record

Flea beetles, Altica (Chrysomelidae) — Ikutmaju Sawmill, 25 October 2006, 08:15.
A metallic blue-green pair mating on a leaf they had chewed full of holes. Species record

Spined stink bug (Pentatomidae) — Eda Sawmill log yard, 29 June 2013, 14:45.
Long shoulder spines and three ivory spots on a dark scutellum. Species record

All records from the Tanah Merah Mangrove Coast

Every animal recorded on this site from this coast, by place and then by date.

Ikutmaju Sawmill

Date	Group	Record
25 Oct 2006	Beetle	Flea beetles Altica (Chrysomelidae), a mating pair on a chewed leaf
3 May 2007	Beetle	Fungus weevil Acanthothorax (Anthribidae), about 24 mm, on the ground
24 Jun 2007	Ant	Asian weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina, workers holding a weevil on a water pipe NEW
24 Aug 2007	Millipede	Giant pill millipede (Sphaerotheriida)
22 Feb 2009	Moth	Tussock moth caterpillar (Lymantriinae)
24 Jun 2009	Bee	Striped Nomia Nomia strigata (Halictidae), a bee with shining bands, resting on a grass blade
25 Aug 2009	Beetle	Tortoise beetle Aspidimorpha (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae), on a leaf in the garden
12 Dec 2011	Beetle	Ladybird beetle larva (Coccinellidae)
8 Mar 2012	Moth	Lappet moth caterpillar on the gate post (Lasiocampidae)
23 Oct 2014	True bug	Ant-mimicking true bug

Eda Sawmill log yard

Date	Group	Record
28 Jul 2009	Beetle	Round-necked longhorn beetle (Cerambycinae), about 6 cm, on the ground of the log yard
7 Dec 2012	Moth	Looper caterpillar of the cross-lined wave moth Traminda aventiaria (Geometridae), on a leaf
29 Jun 2013	True bug	Spined stink bug with three ivory spots (Pentatomidae), on a tree in the log yard
23 Sep 2014	Spider	Crab spider Tmarus sp. EDA, in the grass of the old log yard
Oct–Dec 2014	Spider	Jumping spider, sp. EDA, on a cement wall and on the river bank
21 Oct 2014	Spider	Spiny orb-weaver Thelacantha brevispina
7 Nov 2014	Spider	Wolf spider Pardosa birmanica
18 Nov 2014	Spider	Ground spider, Gnaphosidae sp. EDA

Three of the 2014 spiders could not be named, and were recorded under the temporary name EDA, after the log yard.

Merotai Tiger Prawn Farm

Date	Group	Record
1 Oct 2014	Spider	Bird-dropping crab spiders Phrynarachne ceylonica, a pair; about ten on one tree beside the farm road

The mangrove swamp and the Merotai River

Date	Group	Record
29 Jun 2007	Dragonfly	Old female Neurothemis fluctuans, in the mangrove swamp
9 Jul 2009	Spider	Wolf spider Hippasa holmerae, Sungai Merotai
—	Habitat	Mangrove swamp, the Merotai River and three proboscis monkeys

These two pages say "mangrove swamp" and "Sungai Merotai" without naming the exact spot. Many more spider records on this site are labelled only "Merotai"; they are listed on the Merotai Besar page, not here, because the label does not say which part of Merotai they came from.

Kampung Merotai Besar — the village, its roads and its history.
Mangrove swamp, a dragonfly habitat.
Tawau River Triangle — the abandoned plantation by the Tawau River, opposite Pasar Semarak: another place, many records.

Photographs and records © Wong Fook Yee. Page rebuilt 7 October 2026 from the short page of the same day; the record list will grow as new finds from the sawmills and the prawn farm are added.
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