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Punta Mocha

Puntarenas · Costa Rica

What have people found?

Ecuadorian hermit crab, halloween crab and eastern pacific giant conch are the usual finds. ~32 distinct species have been recorded here. More has been recorded at Playa Islita, 28 miles away.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at Punta Mocha for the next three days
  1. Sun, Nov 15~12:30 PM
  2. Mon, Nov 16in the dark~12:30 AM~1:00 PM
  3. Tue, Nov 17in the dark~1:30 AM~2:00 PM

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 January and April.

What should you know before visiting?

Parking is about 0.3 miles away.
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. Tide pool safety
A tide pool is a fragile place. Look and photograph, take nothing. The tidepooling code

What lives at Punta Mocha?

Species records from iNaturalist

Ecuadorian Hermit CrabCoenobita compressus
Halloween CrabHartnollius quadratus
Eastern Pacific Giant ConchTitanostrombus galeatus
Nicaragua sea hareDolabrifera nicaraguana
Calcinus obscurusCalcinus obscurus
Needle Sea UrchinDiadema mexicanum
Green Spiny LobsterPanulirus gracilis
Stokes's ChitonChiton stokesii
Painted Ghost CrabOcypode gaudichaudii
Sally Lightfoot CrabGrapsus grapsus
Leptogorgia albaLeptogorgia alba
Giant False LimpetSiphonaria gigas
Red-rimmed MelaniaMelanoides tuberculata
Atrina mauraAtrina maura
Megapitaria aurantiacaMegapitaria aurantiaca
Scan this tide pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.