KnowKi

Learn the wildlife of marine protected areas

Learn the wildlife of the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve

New Zealand

390 species have research-grade observations in the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve on iNaturalist. KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos, from fish and seabirds to the life along the shore.

Start this trip in KnowKi →
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. Grey Noddy Anous albivitta37
  2. Australasian Gannet Morus serrator30
  3. Buller's Shearwater Ardenna bulleri20
  4. Fairy Prion Pachyptila turtur18
  5. Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius8
  6. Silver Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae7
  7. Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris5
  8. Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta2
  9. Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus2
  10. White-fronted Tern Sterna striata2

Plants

  1. Fern caulerpa Caulerpa flexilis14
  2. Codium cranwelliae8
  3. Palmophyllum umbracola7
  4. Champia laingii4
  5. New Zealand flax Phormium tenax3
  6. Taupata Coprosma repens3
  7. Caulerpa geminata3
  8. Beaded Samphire Salicornia quinqueflora3
  9. Harpoonweed Asparagopsis armata2
  10. Rengarenga Arthropodium cirratum2

Mammals

  1. Long-nosed Fur Seal Arctocephalus forsteri20
  2. Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus3
  3. Orca Orcinus orca2
  4. Long-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala melas1
  5. Blue Whale Balaenoptera musculus1
  6. Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae1

Fish

  1. Cook's Scorpionfish Scorpaena cardinalis156
  2. New Zealand Demoiselle Chromis dispila114
  3. Eastern King Wrasse Coris sandeyeri108
  4. Violet Sweep Scorpis violacea96
  5. New Zealand Black Angelfish Parma alboscapularis92
  6. Grey Moray Gymnothorax nubilus90
  7. Eastern Pigfish Bodianus unimaculatus89
  8. Australasian Snapper Chrysophrys auratus87
  9. Silver Trevally Pseudocaranx georgianus64
  10. Longfin Perch Caprodon longimanus59

Mollusks

  1. Clown Doris Ceratosoma amoenum122
  2. Fine-lined Tambja Tambja tenuilineata86
  3. Gem Doris Dendrodoris krusensternii48
  4. Gloomy Nudibranch Tambja morosa38
  5. Variable Nudibranch Aphelodoris luctuosa32
  6. Verco's Nudibranch Tambja verconis21
  7. Tyrannodoris luteolineata19
  8. Janolus mokohinau18
  9. Janolus eximius13
  10. Bermudella mija10

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.

Start this trip in KnowKi →

Species lists and counts from research-grade observations on iNaturalist, as of October 2026. KnowKi is not affiliated with NOAA or any area's managers. Free, with no ads, no account and no purchases.