Guerrero Coast · Pacific Mexico · 17.84°N, 101.76°W

Crabs, Sea Stars
& Shore Life.

The rocks at either end of the beach, the river mouth and the reef off the point hold the animals that are neither fish nor mollusk: crabs and hermit crabs, spiny lobster, urchins, sea stars, anemones, blue buttons after a south wind, and the rays that rest in the sand.

16 crabs and lobsters 10 urchins, sea stars and cucumbers 6 anemones, corals and jellies 4 rays and a nurse shark
Where to look

Four habitats, one low tide.

The point rocks. Sally Lightfoot crabs on the wet faces, rock-boring urchins in every hollow, red-leg hermit crabs in the pools, Cortez sea anemones under the overhangs. Go at low tide on a small swell.

The beach. Ghost crabs at dusk, mole crabs in the swash, Ecuadorian hermit crabs carrying shells up the sand at night. Blue buttons and Indo-Pacific man-o-war strand after a south wind: look, do not touch.

The river mouth and lagoon edge. Mouthless crabs and Halloween crabs in burrows, racer mangrove crabs on the roots, East Pacific land crabs crossing the road in the rains.

The reef off the point. Blue spiny lobster under ledges, pencil and needle urchins, cushion stars, blue sea stars, sandy sea cucumbers, and round stingrays and eagle rays over the sand. Shuffle your feet.

The complete record

Every documented shore creature.

The curated cards above are the signatures. Below is the full list — all 38 shore and reef invertebrates with a research-grade iNaturalist observation within 25 km of La Saladita, plus the species Proyecto Saladita's municipality-wide monitoring project has confirmed further out, sorted by how often they are recorded. Type to filter; each card opens a live species page.

38 species
Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus)Sally Lightfoot CrabZapayaGrapsus grapsus Ecuadorian Hermit Crab (Coenobita compressus)Ecuadorian Hermit CrabCangrejo ermitaño del PacíficoCoenobita compressus mouthless crab (Cardisoma crassum)mouthless crabCangrejo CajoCardisoma crassum Central American Rock-boring Urchin (Echinometra vanbrunti)Central American Rock-boring UrchinErizo marino de las rocasEchinometra vanbrunti Blue Button (Porpita porpita)Blue ButtonMedusa botón azulPorpita porpita Gulf Ghost Crab (Ocypode occidentalis)Gulf Ghost CrabCangrejo fantasma del PacíficoOcypode occidentalis Red-leg Hermit Crab (Calcinus californiensis)Red-leg Hermit CrabCangrejo ermitaño de patas rojasCalcinus californiensis Blue spiny lobster (Panulirus inflatus)Blue spiny lobsterLangosta azulPanulirus inflatus Halloween Crab (Hartnollius quadratus)Halloween CrabCangrejo de tierra de patas rojasHartnollius quadratus Imprinted engraved crab (Glyptograpsus impressus)Imprinted engraved crabGlyptograpsus impressus Indo-Pacific Man-O-War (Physalia utriculus)Indo-Pacific Man-O-WarFragata indopacíficaPhysalia utriculus Tropical Mole Crab (Emerita rathbunae)Tropical Mole CrabCangrejo topoEmerita rathbunae Black Spiny Brittle Star (Ophiocoma aethiops)Black Spiny Brittle StarOfiura negra espinosaOphiocoma aethiops East Pacific Land Crab (Johngarthia planata)East Pacific Land CrabCangrejo de tierraJohngarthia planata Padina durvillei (Padina durvillei)Padina durvilleiPadina durvillei Pacific Speckled Crab (Arenaeus mexicanus)Pacific Speckled CrabCangrejo nadadorArenaeus mexicanus Panamic Cushion Star (Pentaceraster cumingi)Panamic Cushion StarEstrella cojínPentaceraster cumingi Blue Sea Star (Phataria unifascialis)Blue Sea StarEstrella azul del PacíficoPhataria unifascialis Cortez Sea Anemone (Bunodosoma californicum)Cortez Sea AnemoneAnémona californianaBunodosoma californicum Cyclograpsus escondidensis (Cyclograpsus escondidensis)Cyclograpsus escondidensisCyclograpsus escondidensis Sandy Sea Cucumber (Holothuria inornata)Sandy Sea CucumberPepino de mar areneroHolothuria inornata Actinostella bradleyi (Actinostella bradleyi)Actinostella bradleyiAnémona de BradleyActinostella bradleyi Amphimedon texotli (Amphimedon texotli)Amphimedon texotliEsponja azul mexicanaAmphimedon texotli Anthopleura dowii (Anthopleura dowii)Anthopleura dowiiAnémona de DowAnthopleura dowii Baseodiscus mexicanus (Baseodiscus mexicanus)Baseodiscus mexicanusGusano de bandas mexicanoBaseodiscus mexicanus Goose Barnacle (Lepas anserifera)Goose BarnaclePercebes gansoLepas anserifera Green Button Polyp (Palythoa mutuki)Green Button PolypPólipo de botón verdePalythoa mutuki Luidia columbia (Luidia columbia)Luidia columbiaLuidia columbia Narrow Tree Crab (Armases angustum)Narrow Tree CrabArmases angustum Needle Sea Urchin (Diadema mexicanum)Needle Sea UrchinErizo bandeadoDiadema mexicanum Pacific Mottled Shore Crab (Pachygrapsus socius)Pacific Mottled Shore CrabCangrejo de orilla del PacíficoPachygrapsus socius Padina mexicana (Padina mexicana)Padina mexicanaPadina mexicana Petrolisthes sanfelipensis (Petrolisthes sanfelipensis)Petrolisthes sanfelipensisCangrejo de porcelanaPetrolisthes sanfelipensis Pin Cushion Sea Urchin (Astropyga pulvinata)Pin Cushion Sea Urchinerizo cojínAstropyga pulvinata Pyramid Sea Star (Pharia pyramidata)Pyramid Sea StarEstrella amarillaPharia pyramidata Racer Mangrove Crab (Goniopsis pulchra)Racer Mangrove CrabCangrejo de Manglar TigreGoniopsis pulchra Wandering Hammerhead Worm (Bipalium vagum)Wandering Hammerhead WormPlanaria asiática cabeza de martilloBipalium vagum slate pencil urchin (Eucidaris thouarsii)slate pencil urchinErizo punta de lapizEucidaris thouarsii

Records come from the community: many of the observers are members of Proyecto Saladita's ecosystem-monitoring project on iNaturalist, which has logged 3,709 observations across the municipality. Add yours — anything you photograph here and upload becomes part of this list once it reaches research grade. Photos are CC-licensed iNaturalist observations, credited on each species page.

Keep exploring
On land
BirdsMammalsReptiles & amphibiansArachnidsInsects
In the water
FishMollusksShore lifeSea turtlesWhales & dolphinsThe lagoon
Plants & fungi
PlantsMushrooms

Methodology & sources

Species are every research-grade iNaturalist record within 25 km of La Saladita (17.8375°N, 101.7606°W) whose taxon falls outside the fish, mollusk and vertebrate guides: crustaceans, echinoderms, cnidarians, sponges, ribbon worms, brown algae, and the sharks and rays are listed with the fish. Counts refresh when the checklist is rebuilt. No systematic survey of this shoreline exists; this list is a floor, not a ceiling.