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Learn the wildlife of national parks

Learn the wildlife of Machalilla National Park

Ecuador

390 species have research-grade observations inside Machalilla National Park on iNaturalist. KnowKi turns the most recorded into short lessons with real photos, so you know what you're looking at before you go.

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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 nebouxii478
  2. Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens198
  3. Nazca Booby Sula granti192
  4. Long-tailed Mockingbird Mimus longicaudatus100
  5. Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis71
  6. Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus70
  7. Collared Warbling-Finch Poospiza hispaniolensis49
  8. Red-footed Booby Sula sula30
  9. Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura28
  10. Yellow-crowned Night Heron Nyctanassa violacea22

Plants

  1. Armatocereus cartwrightianus44
  2. Yellow geiger Cordia lutea40
  3. Eucrosia bicolor32
  4. Mimosa albida19
  5. Capparicordis crotonoides17
  6. Galápagos leatherleaf Maytenus octogona14
  7. Leptochiton quitoensis14
  8. Coastal inkberry Scaevola plumieri10
  9. Manchineel Hippomane mancinella8
  10. Salt bush Cryptocarpus pyriformis8

Mammals

  1. Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae55
  2. South American Sea Lion Otaria flavescens31
  3. Galápagos Sea Lion Zalophus wollebaeki3
  4. Pantropical Spotted Dolphin Stenella attenuata1
  5. Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis1
  6. Brown Rat Rattus norvegicus1

Insects

  1. Great Southern White Ascia monuste4
  2. Variegated Paper Wasp Polistes versicolor3
  3. Pale Cracker Hamadryas amphichloe2
  4. Xyleus camposi2
  5. Traumatomutilla vitelligera2
  6. Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera1
  7. Large Orange Sulphur Phoebis agarithe1
  8. Rambur's Forktail Ischnura ramburii1
  9. Pink-spotted Hawkmoth Agrius cingulata1
  10. Urania Swallowtail Moth Urania fulgens1

Reptiles

  1. Knobbed Pacific Iguana Microlophus occipitalis101
  2. Bocourt's Ameiva Medopheos edracanthus87
  3. Trans-Andean Vine Snake Oxybelis transandinus11
  4. Green Sea Turtle Chelonia mydas8
  5. Peters' Leaf-toed Gecko Phyllodactylus reissii5
  6. Hawksbill Sea Turtle Eretmochelys imbricata5
  7. Marine Iguana Amblyrhynchus cristatus1
  8. Mastigodryas reticulatus1
  9. Seven-lined Ameiva Holcosus septemlineatus1

Fish

  1. King Angelfish Holacanthus passer75
  2. Guineafowl Puffer Arothron meleagris46
  3. Mexican Hogfish Bodianus diplotaenia38
  4. Cortez Rainbow Wrasse Thalassoma lucasanum35
  5. Scissortail Chromis Azurina atrilobata35
  6. Razor Surgeonfish Prionurus laticlavius34
  7. Panamic Sergeant Major Abudefduf troschelii33
  8. Stone Triggerfish Pseudobalistes naufragium29
  9. Black-nosed Butterflyfish Johnrandallia nigrirostris26
  10. Acapulco Major Stegastes acapulcoensis26

Mollusks

  1. Nicaragua sea hare Dolabrifera nicaraguana48
  2. Diomedes' Sapsucker Elysia diomedea26
  3. Gourd Rock Snail Vasula melones14
  4. Stokes's Chiton Chiton stokesii11
  5. Porphyrobaphe iostoma8
  6. Little Arabian Cowrie Pseudozonaria arabicula7
  7. Stramonita biserialis6
  8. Nerita funiculata5
  9. Short-tooth Thorn Drupe Acanthais brevidentata4
  10. Gemophos gemmatus4

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. Parks outside the U.S. are from the World Database on Protected Areas (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, Protected Planet). KnowKi is not affiliated with the National Park Service or any park's managers. Free, with no ads, no account, and no purchases.