Metoma is a small volcanic island in Torba Province of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean.

Geography

Metoma is a part of the Torres Islands archipelago. It lies 500km from Port Vila. The island is located between the neighboring islands of Tegua and Hiu. The summit elevation is 115 m. Metoma is populated by robber crabs (Birgus latro), the world's largest terrestrial invertebrates. The island is 2.4km long and 1.4km wide, and lies 600 m north of Tegua Island.

Population

Metoma had 13 inhabitants in 2009. The village in the south of the island is called Rival.

Name

The island is locally called Mētome in Lo-Toga. The official name Metoma is spelled according to the Mota language, which missionaries chose as a reference in the area; the latter form is conservative of the ancient form *metoma which can be reconstructed in the ancestral language of the Torres and Banks Islands.

References