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This will be a page to document the ID of Piercho (Howard)

Here is one I would like to identify. A whole colony was brought to a PSAS meeting and this image is of my fragment of that colony. It has encrusted on rock at the very back of the tank and cannot be readily removed to be photographed so the image here is poor. The fragment was mounted on it's side and instead of starting new growth from it's upper side coralites(what I expected), the existing axial coralites are bending up as they grow.
As I recall, there was a lot of anastomosing branches on the colony, especially in the lower, older, regions. The tips of the entire colony rose up to an even level like a tabletop, but this may be because they had reached the top of the water in the tank, I don't know. A form description that best applies - I would say - is corymbose. The anastomosing branches were generally in the lower, horizontal region and they terminate in short, upright branchlets. My fragment pictured here is just an upright branchlet (mounted on it's side).

Looking at a branch with 3 axials, the radial coralites are fairly consistent, within zones:

• Axial, upwards: radials are appressed tubular, becoming more submersed as you go from the axial tip toward the branch. Septa are similar to axials described earlier.
  
• Axial, lower: radials are appressed tubular, but more submersed than the axial, upwards radials. Occasional tubular with round opening on lower side. I think these are probably incipient axials. The septa seem more distinct in the tubular with round opening corallites.
  
• Branch, upwards: Very submersed appresed tubulars. Denser (more numerous per unit area) than the branch, lower radials. Corallites appear smaller than the radials on the axials.
  
• Branch, lower: Nearly emmersed radials. These coralites appear to be the smallest. Septa are very indistinct.
  

• Corymbose.
  
• Branches rising from fused base with anastomose branches between bases.
  
• Branches of 'mature' colony mine came from rising to uniform level like a tabletop.
  

• very distinct and contribute the majority of branch width.
  
• Septa: 12.
  
• Cycles: 2.
  
• Primary series are distinct but with inconsistent protrusion. Each of the secondary series cannot be made out in each corallite.
  
• Septa do not protrude very far into corallite.
  

• distinct from axials and tend to be consistent within zones.
• Septa: 12.
  
• Cycles: 2.
  
• The majority are appressed tubular much like fig 33 category C, a few are rounded tubular and are judged to be incipient axials.
  
• Corralites in the fused area below the branches are sub-immerssed or immersed.
  

• coenostenum has spinnules in rows, there is a low ridge along the row The spinnules are tooth-like and separate. I would call them costate with simple spinnules. This character is “costate”
  
• branch taper is conical and of medium thickness
  

This page updated last on December 12, 2006.

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