← Rock Pool Directory/ Ecuador/ Playa Prieta

Playa Prieta

Puerto López, Manabí · Ecuador

What have people found?

Orange fire worm, black spiny brittle star and red sun star turn up here more than at our other rock pools. Nicaragua sea hare, diomedes' sapsucker and slate pencil urchin are the usual finds. ~58 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 Playa Prieta for the next three days
  1. Sun 15 Novin the dark~1:00~13:30
  2. Mon 16 Novin the dark~2:00~14:00
  3. Tue 17 Novin the dark~3:00~15:00

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 March and December.

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 Playa Prieta?

Species records from iNaturalist

Nicaragua sea hareDolabrifera nicaraguana
Porphyrobaphe iostomaPorphyrobaphe iostoma
Diomedes' SapsuckerElysia diomedea
slate pencil urchinEucidaris thouarsii
Red Sun StarHeliaster cumingi
Central American Rock-boring UrchinEchinometra vanbrunti
Ecuadorian Hermit CrabCoenobita compressus
Gourd Rock SnailVasula melones
Sally Lightfoot CrabGrapsus grapsus
Black Spiny Brittle StarOphiocoma aethiops
Painted Ghost CrabOcypode gaudichaudii
Pyramid Sea StarPharia pyramidata
Stokes's ChitonChiton stokesii
Orange Fire WormEurythoe complanata
Nerita funiculataNerita funiculata
Scan this rock pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.