1 · Disks & Ovals — the colorful crowd
Butterflyfish, angelfish & surgeonfish — the flat, round, brightly painted fish that hug the rocks.
Threebanded Butterflyfish
Chaetodon humeralis
Costa Rica's most common butterflyfish — a silvery, disk-shaped fish crossed by dark bars, usually seen gliding in pairs as it picks along the rocks.
5 fun facts →
Longnose Butterflyfish
Forcipiger flavissimus
Bright lemon-yellow with a long, tweezer-like snout it uses to pluck tiny food out of reef crevices. Hard to miss against the dark rocks.
5 fun facts →
Barberfish
Johnrandallia nigrirostris
A pale butterflyfish with a dark "mask" and tail bar. It runs cleaning stations, nibbling parasites off bigger fish that line up to wait their turn.
5 fun facts →
King Angelfish
Holacanthus passer
A showstopper — deep blue-black body crossed by a single bright white bar, with a golden tail. One of the signature angelfish of the Eastern Pacific.
5 fun facts →
Cortez Angelfish
Pomacanthus zonipectus
Adults are gray and gold with sweeping bands; young ones are jet-black with electric yellow-and-blue stripes. Spotting a juvenile is a real treat.
5 fun facts →
Clarion Angelfish
Holacanthus clarionensis
A warm orange-brown angelfish from the offshore islands — rarer and prized, so every sighting feels like a small reward.
5 fun facts →
Yellowtail Surgeonfish
Prionurus punctatus
Named for its bright yellow tail. Surgeonfish carry a tiny scalpel-sharp spine near the tail — lovely to watch, best admired without touching.
5 fun facts →
Convict Tang
Acanthurus triostegus
A small silvery surgeonfish wearing six dark "prison" bars. They graze algae off the rocks in busy, roving groups.
5 fun facts →
Moorish Idol
Zanclus cornutus
Unmistakable — bold black, white and yellow bands and a long trailing dorsal streamer. One of the most elegant fish on the reef.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA): Diego Delso, Paul & Jill, László Ilyés, Coughdrop12, and the Guido & Carrara family. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
2 · Silvery Fish — the open-water shimmer
Jacks, barracuda, mullet and needlefish — fast, mirror-bright fish that cruise the sandy edges and open water just off the reef.
Bigeye Trevally
Caranx sexfasciatus
Silver jacks with big eyes that gather in slow, wheeling schools. Watching a tight ball of them turn as one is a highlight of any swim.
5 fun facts →
Pacific Crevalle Jack
Caranx caninus
A muscular, deep-bodied silver jack that hunts baitfish in fast-moving schools. When they charge a bait ball, the water boils.
5 fun facts →
Green Jack
Caranx caballus
Slender and blue-green along the back, these jacks stream over the reef in quick, shifting schools that catch the light.
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Pacific Lookdown
Selene brevoortii
Thin as a coin and bright as a mirror, with a steep, sloping forehead that gives it a permanently downcast "look." Dazzling in sunlight.
5 fun facts →
Mexican Barracuda
Sphyraena ensis
A slender silver ambush hunter that hangs almost motionless in the water. Toothy and dramatic to see, but calm and no cause for alarm.
5 fun facts →
Striped Mullet
Mugil cephalus
Hardy silver fish that ripple across the shallows in big, easygoing schools and often leap clear of the surface for no obvious reason.
5 fun facts →
Yellowfin Mojarra
Gerres cinereus
A bright silver fish with yellow-tinged fins that sifts the sandy bottom for small morsels, puffing little clouds of sand as it feeds.
5 fun facts →
Pacific Needlefish
Tylosurus fodiator
Long, pencil-thin fish with a needle beak that hover right at the surface. Easy to miss until the light catches their silver line.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA): Rickard Zerpe, László Ilyés, Diego Delso, George Berninger, Kees Groenendijk and Phonon.b. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
3 · Sloping-Head Fish — snappers & grunts
The tapered, big-lipped fish that hover near rocks and ledges in loose schools — from golden snappers to the grunting porkfish.
Yellow Snapper
Lutjanus argentiventris
Silver up front, bright golden toward the tail. One of the most common reef fish on the Pacific coast, usually hovering near rocks and ledges.
5 fun facts →
Blue-and-Gold Snapper
Lutjanus viridis
Electric blue lines on a golden body, schooling tightly near rocky outcrops. One of the most recognizable fish on the reef.
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Pacific Dog Snapper
Lutjanus novemfasciatus
The reef's heavyweight — a big, broad-shouldered snapper with large dog-like teeth. Often seen alone near deeper rocks and caves.
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Barred Pargo
Hoplopagrus guentherii
A stocky, handsome snapper found only in the Eastern Pacific. Younger ones show pale bars; adults hold close to a favorite ledge.
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Panamic Porkfish
Anisotremus taeniatus
Two bold black bars on a silver face, a body striped in yellow. One of the most photogenic grunts on the reef.
5 fun facts →
Burrito Grunt
Anisotremus interruptus
A solid, silvery grunt with a brassy sheen that works the base of the rocks. Quiet-looking, but it really does grunt.
5 fun facts →
Graybar Grunt
Haemulon sexfasciatum
One of the biggest grunts here, hanging in large shimmering schools near the reef. The whole group shifts and reforms as you swim through.
5 fun facts →
Latin Grunt
Haemulon steindachneri
Silvery with fine wavy lines and a dark smudge near the tail. Often mixed into larger grunt schools drifting over the rocks.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA): Diego Delso, Julien Renoult, Dan Schofield, Alberto Alcalá and rmcminds. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
4 · Damselfish & Small Ovals — the feisty little locals
Small, bold reef fish that farm algae and guard their turf — plus the schooling chromis that hover in midwater clouds.
Panamic Sergeant Major
Abudefduf troschelii
The bold black-and-yellow striped fish you'll likely meet first — common, curious, and all over the rocks. Often the first fish to greet snorkelers.
Read the guide →
Giant Damselfish
Microspathodon dorsalis
The biggest damselfish here — dark and chunky, and fearless for its size. Young ones glow with electric-blue spots.
5 fun facts →
Cortez Damselfish
Stegastes rectifraenum
A small, busy reef guardian. Adults are dusky brown; juveniles are deep blue with glowing neon lines.
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Beaubrummel
Stegastes flavilatus
A sharp two-tone damselfish — smoky gray above, washed yellow below. One of the more colorful of the small reef damsels.
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Acapulco Damselfish
Stegastes acapulcoensis
A dusky brown little defender that rarely leaves its scrap of reef. Plain-looking, but catch the light and you'll see blue flecks.
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Scissortail Chromis
Azurina atrilobata
Small silvery damsels with a deeply forked tail that hover in shimmering midwater clouds, picking plankton from the current.
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Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA): Diego Delso and Ryan McMinds. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
5 · Heavy-Bodied / Big-Lipped Fish — groupers & sea bass
The thick-bodied ambush hunters of the reef — groupers that wait in the rocks, plus the schooling creolefish and the rock-perching giant hawkfish.
Flag Cabrilla
Epinephelus labriformis
A small, color-shifting grouper that waits motionless in the rocks to ambush its next meal. Can vanish against the reef in moments.
5 fun facts →
Panama Graysby
Cephalopholis panamensis
A small, shy grouper that tucks into caves and overhangs, rarely straying far from cover. Often seen peeking from a crevice.
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Leopard Grouper
Mycteroperca rosacea
A spotted reef hunter — and a lucky few turn vivid gold. The rare golden phase is a dramatic sight against the blue.
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Broomtail Grouper
Mycteroperca xenarcha
A reef heavyweight with an unmistakable frayed, broom-like tail. Big ones hold near large rocks and deeper ledges.
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Pacific Creolefish
Paranthias colonus
A sea bass that schools in the open, drifting in rosy midwater clouds to pick plankton from the current.
5 fun facts →
Giant Hawkfish
Cirrhitus rivulatus
The largest hawkfish — a stocky, marbled fish that perches on the rocks on its stiff fins, watching for a meal.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY-SA / Public domain): Diego Delso and Stickpen. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
6 · Pectoral-Fin Swimmers — wrasses & parrotfish
The reef's fin-rowers — colorful wrasses that comb the rocks and sand, and the beak-mouthed parrotfish that graze the reef and help make white sand.
Mexican Hogfish
Bodianus diplotaenia
A large wrasse that changes color and shape through life — striped as a youngster, big and bump-headed as an old male.
5 fun facts →
Cortez Rainbow Wrasse
Thalassoma lucasanum
A small, dazzling wrasse striped in red, yellow and blue-green that zips over the reef in busy groups.
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Sunset Wrasse
Thalassoma grammaticum
A green wrasse washed with pink and purple lines — a real looker when the light catches it over the reef.
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Chameleon Wrasse
Halichoeres dispilus
A slim, color-shifting wrasse that combs the sand by day and buries itself in the bottom to sleep at night.
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Spinster Wrasse
Halichoeres nicholsi
A big, boldly barred wrasse that patrols the reef edge and dives into the sand to hide at nightfall.
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Wounded Wrasse
Halichoeres chierchiae
A small, quick wrasse named for the red blotches on the males that look like wounds — colorful, not hurt.
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Parrotfish
Scaridae
The beak-mouthed reef grazers that scrape algae off the rock and help make white sand. We built a full guide to them.
Read the guide →
Bluechin Parrotfish
Scarus ghobban
A big, beak-mouthed grazer, blue-green with a bluish chin, that you can sometimes hear crunching at the reef.
5 fun facts →
Bicolor Parrotfish
Scarus rubroviolaceus
A large two-tone grazer — darker in front, brighter behind — that scrapes the reef and helps build the beach sand.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA): Diego Delso, mark6mauno, Alberto Alcalá and the Guido & Carrara family. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
7 · Reddish & Big-Eyed Fish — the reef's night shift
The red, big-eyed fish that hide in shaded ledges and caves by day and come out to feed after dark. Peek into the shadows and you'll find them resting.
Panamic Soldierfish
Myripristis leiognathus
Rosy-red and big-eyed, it huddles in shaded ledges by day and streams out to feed on plankton after dark.
5 fun facts →
Tinsel Squirrelfish
Sargocentron suborbitale
Red streaked with silver, with big night-eyes and sharp spines — a shadow-lover that rests under ledges by day.
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Popeye Catalufa
Pristigenys serrula
A brilliant red bigeye with huge headlight eyes that shelters in caves by day — a shy, special sighting.
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Barspot Cardinalfish
Apogon retrosella
A small coppery-red fish with two dark bars — and the male broods the eggs in his own mouth.
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Tailspot Cardinalfish
Apogon dovii
A shy orange-red night fish with a neat dark tail spot, hiding in reef crevices until after dark.
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Glasseye
Heteropriacanthus cruentatus
A red bigeye with huge glassy eyes that can switch from solid red to blotchy silver in seconds.
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Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA): mdpurdy, rmcminds, Alberto Alcalá, keesgroenendijk and Rickard Zerpe. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
8 · Elongated Bottom-Dwellers — blennies & gobies
The little fish that perch right on the rocks and sand instead of swimming above them. Many live in holes and empty shells — look low and close and you'll find them watching you.
Panamic Fanged Blenny
Ophioblennius steindachneri
A feisty, big-headed grazer with comb-like teeth and hidden fangs that fiercely guards its little patch of rock.
5 fun facts →
Sabertooth Blenny
Plagiotremus azaleus
A slim trickster that darts from its hole to nip scales off bigger fish, then zips back home tail-first.
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Barnaclebill Blenny
Hypsoblennius brevipinnis
A tiny fish that lives inside an empty barnacle shell, poking just its little fringed face out to watch the reef.
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Bluebanded Goby
Lythrypnus dalli
A fiery red jewel crossed with electric-blue bands, perched on the rocks near its crevice — tiny but unmistakable.
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Redlight Goby
Coryphopterus urospilus
A pale, speckled little goby that blends into the sand, marked by a dark spot at the base of its tail like a tail light.
5 fun facts →
Largemouth Blenny
Labrisomus xanti
A stout, mottled rock-sitter with a big head and wide mouth that trusts its camouflage and perches in plain sight.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA): Diego Delso, Georgina Jones, Alberto Alcalá and Donald Davesne. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
9 · Odd-Shaped Bottom-Dwellers — ambushers & oddballs
The reef's strangest residents — camouflage artists and sand-dwellers that lie in wait on the bottom. They're hard to spot, so finding one is always a thrill. Watch with your eyes, never your hands.
Pacific Spotted Scorpionfish
Scorpaena mystes
A warty master of disguise that melts into the rock and ambushes prey — venomous-spined, so look but never touch.
5 fun facts →
Sanguine Frogfish
Antennarius sanguineus
A lumpy oddball that 'walks' on its fins and fishes with a built-in lure, changing color to match a sponge.
5 fun facts →
Panamic Lizardfish
Synodus lacertinus
A lizard-faced ambusher that props on the sand and bursts upward to snatch passing fish with needle teeth.
5 fun facts →
California Flounder
Paralichthys californicus
A flat fish that lies on its side with both eyes on top, buried in the sand until a meal passes overhead.
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Bullseye Electric Ray
Diplobatis ommata
A small, round, sand-dwelling ray with a bold target spot — and a real electric shock for defense.
5 fun facts →
Pacific Seahorse
Hippocampus ingens
The Eastern Pacific's only seahorse — a curl-tailed wonder clinging to seagrass. A rare and magical find.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA): Diego Delso, Alberto Alcalá, RatioTile, Steve Ryan and Robert Scoble. What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
10 · Odd-Shaped Swimmers — triggers, puffers & boxfish
The reef's most eccentric shapes — tube-snouted stalkers, armored boxfish and puffers that balloon up when alarmed. They swim in the open and are a joy to watch cruise the rocks.
Pacific Trumpetfish
Aulostomus chinensis
Meet the Pacific trumpetfish — a long, tube-shaped fish that drifts head-down and ambushes prey near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Reef Cornetfish
Fistularia commersonii
Meet the reef cornetfish — an extremely long, thin fish with a whip-like tail that glides over sand and reef near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Finescale Triggerfish
Balistes polylepis
Meet the finescale triggerfish — a stout, armored fish that locks itself into crevices and crunches shellfish near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Orangeside Triggerfish
Sufflamen verres
Meet the orangeside triggerfish — a reef fish with a yellow-orange face and the triggerfish's clever locking spine, near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Guineafowl Puffer
Arothron meleagris
Meet the guineafowl puffer — a round black pufferfish dusted with white spots like a starry sky, near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Scrawled Filefish
Aluterus scriptus
Meet the scrawled filefish — an olive fish covered in blue scribbles and black dots that drifts head-down near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Spotted Boxfish
Ostracion meleagris
Meet the spotted boxfish — a tiny box-shaped fish in blue and gold that putters around the reef near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Balloonfish
Diodon holocanthus
Meet the balloonfish — a big-eyed, spiny porcupinefish that inflates into a prickly ball when threatened, near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Pufferfish
Pufferfish of Jacó
Meet the balloon-bellied puffers of Playa Mantas — how they inflate, why they are curious, and where to spot them.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA). What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
11 · Eels — morays of the reef
Snake-bodied hunters that peer from cracks in the rock, mouths opening and closing to breathe. They look fierce but are shy — give them space and enjoy the view.
Jewel Moray
Muraena lentiginosa
Meet the jewel moray — a handsome eel dotted with pale, dark-ringed spots that peers from reef crevices near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Zebra Moray
Gymnomuraena zebra
Meet the zebra moray — a boldly striped, gentle eel that crushes crabs and urchins near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Panamic Green Moray
Gymnothorax castaneus
Meet the Panamic green moray — a large, powerful eel that guards reef crevices near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Tiger Snake Moray
Scuticaria tigrina
Meet the tiger snake moray — a stout, tiger-spotted eel that burrows in sand and rubble near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Yellow-Edged Moray
Gymnothorax flavimarginatus
Meet the yellow-edged moray — a large speckled eel trimmed with yellow along its fins, near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Moray Eel
Morays of Jacó
Our full guide to the moray eels of Playa Mantas — how to spot them safely and why that open mouth is just breathing.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA). What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
12 · Sharks & Rays — the big ones
The ocean's most thrilling residents. Rays glide the sandy flats close to shore, while the larger sharks and pelagic rays live in deeper, offshore water — rarely seen on a shallow shore snorkel, but magical when the ocean surprises you.
Whitetip Reef Shark
Triaenodon obesus
Meet the whitetip reef shark — a slender, white-tipped shark that rests under ledges in Costa Rica's Pacific. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Scalloped Hammerhead
Sphyrna lewini
Meet the scalloped hammerhead — the famous hammer-headed shark of Costa Rica's offshore Pacific. What it is and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Spotted Eagle Ray
Aetobatus laticeps
Meet the spotted eagle ray — a graceful, white-spotted ray that soars through Costa Rica's Pacific. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Giant Manta Ray
Mobula birostris
Meet the giant manta ray — the huge, harmless filter-feeding ray of Costa Rica's Pacific. What it is and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Pseudobatos productus
Meet the shovelnose guitarfish — a sand-dwelling fish shaped like a cross between a shark and a ray, near Jacó, Costa Rica. How to spot it and five fun facts.
5 fun facts →
Stingray
Rays of Jacó
Our full guide to the stingrays of Playa Mantas — how they hide in the sand and the simple shuffle that keeps everyone safe.
5 fun facts →
Representative photos of each Eastern Pacific species, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY / CC BY-SA). What you actually see varies by day, season and tide.
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