Microlophus barringtonensis
Silhouette: Kurtis Wothe and Giovanna Sainz · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Microlophus barringtonensis or the Santa Fe lava lizard is a species of lava lizard or a population of Microlophus albemarlensis. It inhabits Santa Fe island in the Galápagos. It is the only lava lizard on Santa Fe. It is extremely common.
barringtonensis refers to its range in Santa Fe island, formerly named Barrington Island. It is debated whether the species is a population or not. Authors have claimed that the population is an entire other species along with M. jacobi and M. indefatigabilis. This view is not widely accepted. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Santa Fe Lava Lizard sighting in Galápagos Islands on a given day, based on 149 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 31 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, June and August–December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Santa Fe Lava Lizard in Galápagos Islands on a given day, against about 10% in January–February, April–May and July, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Santa Fe Lava Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Galápagos Islands, in our data
Galápagos Islands is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Santa Fe Lava Lizard sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Microlophus
The closest relatives of the Santa Fe Lava Lizard that you can see in Galápagos Islands (genus Microlophus, Pacific Iguanas) are Santa Cruz Lava Lizard (about 50%), San Cristobal Lava Lizard (about 40%) and Isabela Lava Lizard (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Santa Fe Lava Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Galápagos Islands (149 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
