ID help – 02/07/08
I recently picked a new piece of coral up. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. Here is a link to a thread with some pretty good pictures that I took of the coral. Please let me know what it is.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1312909
<Wow, that's a tough one. The tissue makes it pretty hard to see the skeleton. My best guess is some kind of Goniopora sp. but I honestly can't be sure. Are there any dead, exposed parts of the skeleton you could take a picture of? If you could send that in, it would really help. Or maybe Bob has a better idea. If all else fails, you can always ask Eric B. Though I'm sure he'll likely also ask you for pics of the exposed skeleton for any proper ID.>
Thanks
Ian Iwane
<De nada,
Sara M.>

Re: Scler. ID help   2/8/08
Thanks Sara,
There is no exposed skeleton on the piece. I was thinking last thing I would try to do is cut a little piece off and bleach it. If that was
necessary. For a size scale, each polyp is around 2mm or so. Let me know if you guys have any other ideas.
<Well, Bob doesn't think it's Goniopora, so I'm out of ideas right now. Having a clean piece of skeleton would certainly help if you think you can spare it.>
Thanks
Ian
<Best,
Sara M.> <<We'll see... RMF>>

Mmm... no... RMF

Re: ID help- Madracis sp? 02/19/2008 I updated a skeleton shot in the same thread. Take a look at it tell me if it helps http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1312909&perpage=25&pagenumber=2 <So sorry for the very, very delayed response. I was out of the country. The skeleton pics are very helpful, thank you. There's still too much tissue/water on it, such that the details/nuances are obscured. However, I can see enough to see why someone posted that it looks like it could be Madracis pharensis. I do agree it looks like a Madracis sp. However, I think it's more likely Madracis kirbyi. I say this because Madracis pharensis is not found in the Indo-Pacific (where most all our corals in the trade are from). Madracis kirbyi is found in the Indo-Pacific (one of the few Madracis sp. which are).> Ian <Best, Sara M.>

Re: ID help -02/20/08 I attached a new skeletal shot. The skeleton looks nothing like the kirbyi. I guess they have said that the pharensis has been found along the pacific coast of Mexico. Also my friend Norman (Mr.. ugly on RC) said that he read somewhere that it was also found in Hawaii. Not sure though. Take a look at the new shot at tell me what you think. <Ok, yes, that photo is more clear... but I still couldn't tell you for sure if it's M. pharensis or M. kirbyi. The two are just so similar. One would almost have to look under a microscope to tell them apart. You might want to ask Eric B. However, again, it just seems SO odd that a M. pharensis (which, according to Veron, is "rare except in caves") coral would end up in a US LFS. And the book doesn't include Hawaii or Mexico in its range. But even if it's true that a M. pharensis could be found in Hawaii or Mexico, that would still be rather unusual since we're not meant to get corals from these places. But maybe Bob has more insight into this.><<Mmm, no... not w/o more delving than I have resource for currently. RMF>> Ian <Thanks for writing/sharing, Sara M.>