You probably dream of going to the Galapagos for its remarkable sea life. Or maybe you’re a birder looking for finches and mockingbirds. Perhaps the tortoises capture your imagination. However, it’s the small things that ultimately make the islands an amazing wildlife watching destination. It just wouldn’t be the Galapagos without Sally Lightfoot crabs, lava lizards and other colorful little creatures in amongst the lava rocks and mega fauna.
Sally Lightfoot crabs are actually not unique to the Galapagos. They live along both coasts of Central America, extending upward into Mexico and downward into South America. Neither are they a single species: the red rock crab (Grapsus grapsus) and the urchin crab (Percnon gibbesi) are two of the crabs commonly referred to as Sally Lightfoot. What unites these crabs is their color and behavior.
A Sally Lightfoot crab can be almost any color of the rainbow, but most are some shade of red. They can be anything from a dark crimson to a pale almost-pink. But my favorites are the blood-red ones with baby blue highlights and gold-plating!
These cute and colorful crabs are also fast! They got their moniker for their fleet feet. They never seem to get caught unaware by the surging surf, despite living on lava rocks right at the break. Sally Lightfoot crabs often seem to evade birds and other predators: running or leaping out of reach at the last moment. And they can cling on to slick rocks at steep angles!
Sally Lightfoot crabs are not the only crabs inhabiting Galapagos shorelines! By spending a great deal of time laying on the beaches of Isabela, we caught sight of another very special crab!
The Galapagos hermit crab, like other hermits, outgrows its shell and has to trade up for a new one. This is one of my favorite things to see: hermit crabs lining up in size order, getting ready for the great shell swap! Our sighting featured a lone individual – but a particularly cute one! And we were happy to have another species on our Galapagos list.
Switching classes now, another tiny but ubiquitous resident of the Galapagos islands is the lava lizard. The Galapagos lava lizard (Microlophus albemarlensis) is a tiny, adorable reptile that abides on all of the islands. Reminiscent of geckos, these little guys are everywhere: including on other Galapagos animals!
You can find Galapagos lava lizards sunbathing on warm volcanic rocks. My favorite is when you spot two lava lizards engaged in a push-up competition! But get too close and you risk scaring these shy creatures into hiding. The best wildlife watching strategy for lava lizards is to sit near some sunny rocks and wait awhile for one to peek out.
The Galapagos have a wealth of watchable wildlife, including some big bucket list species. But the islands wouldn’t be quite so captivating without the nimble antics of some of their smallest but most colorful residents.
