The slithery. The scaly. The spectacularly showy. Discover incredible animals from land and sea in this special exhibition featuring creatures from the coastal habitats of Baja California. Life here thrives on the edge of sand and surf, where rugged desert coastline meets the sapphire waters of the Pacific.
Coral Reef Cam
Follow busy tropical fishes in ¡Viva Baja! Life on the Edge.
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In this Exhibit
Bluespotted jawfish
Opistognathus rosenblattiThis colorful fish keeps busy digging, building and remodeling its den, using its mouth to shovel and arrange sand and bits of coral. Then it hovers near its home looking for predators and prey.
Cortez rainbow wrasse
Thalassoma lucasanumWrasses are usually the most abundant and conspicuous members of coral reef communities. Tropical wrasses like this one are distinguished by their brilliant coloring.
Desert tortoise
Gopherus agassiziiThis small, slow-moving tortoise is fortified with distinctive scutes (thickened plates) on its domed shell and stocky, scaly feet with long nails. It uses its front claws to dig deep underground burrows to escape the desert heat.
Golden trevally
Gnathanodon speciosusBright yellow as juveniles, and gold and silver as adults, this species uses its extendable jaws to suck out prey from sand or reef. Juveniles usually form large schools and follow bigger fish and even jellies.
Lookdown
Selene sp.Easily recognizable by its super-slender silhouette and steep profile, this pelagic fish also has an exaggerated dorsal fin. The slim silver fish confuses predators by facing toward them and almost disappearing.
Mountain kingsnake
Lampropeltis zonata agalmaThis beautiful and harmless snake's coloring mimics that of the venomous coral snake, which might deter predators. If that doesn't work it can release a smelly musk.
Pacific seahorse
Hippocampus ingensThe only seahorse found off the California coast, it's one of the largest known species and can grow to a foot tall. It's a "vulnerable" threatened species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Green moray
Gymnothorax sp.This is the classic moray eel of most people's imaginations: long, lean and green. It lives inside rocky crevices and usually hunts at night, relying on its sense of smell to find prey.
Staghorn hermit crab
Manucomplanus variansThis crab makes its home in a staghorn hydrocoral, Janaria mirabilis, whose stinging cells offer the crab protection. In return, the hydrocoral gets to move around and filter feed on plankton as the crab forages.
Beautiful Baja
This 800-mile-long narrow peninsula in northwestern Mexico is separated from the mainland by the Gulf of California. With almost 2,000 miles of coastline, sun-scorched desert, lush mangrove forests and colorful coral reefs, Baja is a land of contrasts, where unique plants and animals survive and thrive.
The Beauty Below: Cabo Pulmo
The warm waters off Baja's southern tip support a tropical treasure—the reefs of Cabo Pulmo and their dazzling denizens. After decades of overfishing depleted its rich marine life, conservation groups worked with the Mexican government to protect the Cabo Pulmo reef—one of the oldest coral reefs in the northern Pacific Ocean. It's now a designated National Marine Park as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
