← Rock Pool Directory/ Ecuador/ La Ratonera

La Ratonera

Cantón Santa Cruz, Galápagos · Ecuador

What have people found?

Punched stone crab, galápagos fiddler crab and little deer cowry turn up here more than at our other rock pools. Sally lightfoot crab, galapagos slate pencil urchin and ecuadorian hermit crab are the usual finds. ~93 distinct species have been recorded here.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at La Ratonera for the next three days
  1. Sun 15 Novin the dark~0:00~12:30
  2. Mon 16 Novin the dark~1:00~13:00
  3. Tue 17 Novin the dark~2:00~14:00

Every low tide each day, in local time at the shore.

Plan the week in Intertidal
  • A tide chart for every day, with the best window marked
  • Identify what you find from a photo
  • An alert when a good daylight low is coming

When do people visit?

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Most observations come from January and June.

What should you know before visiting?

Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before low tide and leave as it turns. The water comes back faster than it left.
Grippy shoes beat sandals. Wet rock and algae are more slippery than they look. Rock pool safety
A rock pool is a fragile place. Look and photograph, take nothing. The rockpooling code

What lives at La Ratonera?

Species records from iNaturalist

Sally Lightfoot CrabGrapsus grapsus
Galapagos Slate Pencil UrchinEucidaris galapagensis
Ecuadorian Hermit CrabCoenobita compressus
Punched Stone CrabOzius verreauxii
Gourd Rock SnailVasula melones
Calcinus exploratorCalcinus explorator
Red Sun StarHeliaster cumingi
Plicopurpura columellarisPlicopurpura columellaris
Lytechinus semituberculatusLytechinus semituberculatus
Radsia sulcatusRadsia sulcatus
Galápagos Fiddler CrabMinuca galapagensis
Pronghorn Spiny LobsterPanulirus penicillatus
Galápagos CerithCerithium adustum
Little Deer CowryMacrocypraea cervinetta
Botrylloides nigerBotrylloides niger
Scan this rock pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.