KnowKi

Key Places for biodiversity

Learn the wildlife of Galápagos

Ecuador

Galápagos is one of E.O. Wilson's Key Places, irreplaceable for life on Earth. 2,188 species have research-grade observations there on iNaturalist, and KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos.

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Āki the kiwi, KnowKi's guide

Most recorded here

The species with the most research-grade observations on iNaturalist, and how many each has. Most recorded doesn't mean native.

Birds

  1. Blue-footed Booby Sula nebouxii5,315
  2. Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis4,021
  3. Mangrove Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia3,240
  4. Galápagos Mockingbird Mimus parvulus2,624
  5. Swallow-tailed Gull Creagrus furcatus2,559
  6. Nazca Booby Sula granti2,522
  7. Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens2,488
  8. Lava Heron Butorides sundevalli2,462
  9. Small Ground-Finch Geospiza fuliginosa2,364
  10. Galápagos Penguin Spheniscus mendiculus2,235

Plants

  1. Galápagos Pricklypear Opuntia galapageia4,969
  2. Candelabra cactus Jasminocereus thouarsii2,745
  3. Yellow geiger Cordia lutea1,417
  4. Darwin's cotton Gossypium darwinii1,235
  5. Lava Cactus Brachycereus nesioticus1,078
  6. Mexican palo verde Parkinsonia aculeata942
  7. Salt bush Cryptocarpus pyriformis850
  8. Green Buttonwood Conocarpus erectus778
  9. Red mangrove Rhizophora mangle723
  10. Thorn shrub Scutia spicata697

Mammals

  1. Galápagos Sea Lion Zalophus wollebaeki8,876
  2. Galápagos Fur Seal Arctocephalus galapagoensis750
  3. Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus278
  4. Domestic Cat Felis catus80
  5. Orca Orcinus orca69
  6. House Mouse Mus musculus52
  7. Domestic Goat Capra hircus48
  8. Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae39

Insects

  1. Large Painted Locust Schistocerca melanocera1,137
  2. Galápagos carpenter bee Xylocopa darwini878
  3. Variegated Paper Wasp Polistes versicolor663
  4. Ramon Blue Hemiargus ramon414
  5. Spotless Lady Beetle Cycloneda sanguinea327
  6. Striped Saddlebags Tramea darwini321
  7. Dorantes Longtail Cecropterus dorantes258
  8. Monarch Danaus plexippus233
  9. Cloudless Sulphur Phoebis sennae222
  10. Six-spotted Zigzag Ladybird Cheilomenes sexmaculata219

Spiders and kin

  1. Western Spotted Orbweaver Neoscona oaxacensis477
  2. Silver Garden Orbweaver Argiope argentata311
  3. Pantropical Huntsman Spider Heteropoda venatoria272
  4. Spinybacked Orbweaver Gasteracantha cancriformis231
  5. Leucauge argyra169
  6. Selenops mexicanus98
  7. Hadruroides galapagoensis88
  8. Frigga crocuta76
  9. Gray Wall Jumping Spider Menemerus bivittatus56
  10. Adanson's House Jumper Hasarius adansoni48

Reptiles

  1. Marine Iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus10,661
  2. Galápagos Giant Tortoise Chelonoidis niger4,351
  3. Santa Cruz Lava Lizard Microlophus indefatigabilis3,398
  4. Galápagos Land Iguana Conolophus subcristatus3,171
  5. Green Sea Turtle Chelonia mydas3,134
  6. San Cristobal Lava Lizard Microlophus bivittatus1,997
  7. Isabela Lava Lizard Microlophus albemarlensis1,809
  8. Española Lava Lizard Microlophus delanonis962
  9. Santiago Lava Lizard Microlophus jacobii842
  10. Mourning Gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris744

Fish

  1. Mexican Hogfish Bodianus diplotaenia1,423
  2. Blue-barred Parrotfish Scarus ghobban1,379
  3. Razor Surgeonfish Prionurus laticlavius1,198
  4. King Angelfish Holacanthus passer1,101
  5. Galápagos Gregory Stegastes arcifrons909
  6. Bullseye Puffer Sphoeroides annulatus844
  7. Cortez Rainbow Wrasse Thalassoma lucasanum800
  8. Galápagos Ringtail Damselfish Stegastes beebei725
  9. Panamic Sergeant Major Abudefduf troschelii682
  10. Panamic Fanged Blenny Ophioblennius steindachneri643

Mollusks

  1. Galápagos Reef Octopus Octopus oculifer214
  2. Galápagos Blue Beauty Tambja mullineri196
  3. Hexaplex princeps150
  4. Panamanian Tulip Snail Triplofusus princeps115
  5. Rough-ribbed Nerite Nerita scabricosta114
  6. Plicopurpura columellaris102
  7. Gourd Rock Snail Vasula melones99
  8. Galápagos Cerith Cerithium adustum81
  9. Black-spotted cowrie Pseudozonaria nigropunctata80
  10. Columbella fuscata70

How a trip works

A trip has its own trail of lessons: meet six species, match them to new photos, then practice with four choices. Species you learn go into your Fieldbook, and starting a trip earns its Passport stamp. Your home place stays as it is.

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Species lists and counts from research-grade observations on iNaturalist, as of October 2026. KnowKi is not affiliated with the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation. Free, with no ads, no account and no purchases.