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Coral Identification: Coral 4

This page will be to document the coral ID of Firefish15.

The coral I'm trying to identify is a " Fancy Acropora" I bought at as a lfs. It was mostly brown at the time but changed into a real beauty after a few weeks. It's a small colony about 3" x 4" so I'm not sure of the growth form. It looks similar to yours which you describe as digitate and clump-like.

After 3 months:

Branch:

View from the top showing axial and radial corallites.

Closup of axial corralite. There are 6 primary and 6 secondary septa.

Axial corallite of my coral is approximately 2.5mm outside diameter and 0.8 inside diameter. These are rough estimates using a ruler. Here's a picture of the corallite next to the ruler.

My acropora has four types of radial corallites. 1. tubular nariform opening.
2. nariform elongate opening.
3. appressed tubular
4. immersed.
Size is quite variable. The largest being eliptical 2mm x 2.5mm outside diameter, 1 mm x 0.7 mm inside diam. The smallest circular 1 mm outside diam, 0.5 inside diam.

The septae are also varaible, all have2 cycles, The most nuimerous being 6 primary and 6 secondary. The least nulerous 2 primary, 4 barely visible secondary.
appressed tubular and immersed corallites:

The costae around the axial and radial corallites are similar with shark-like teeth.

The coenosteum seems to be a simple reticulate structure.

Axials:

  • 2.5mm outside diameter and 0.8 inside diameter.
Septa:
  • 2 cycles. 6 primary extending to 75% of radius, 6 secondary.
Radials:
  • variable in size from 2mm x 2.5mm to 1 mm x 0.7 mm outside diameter.
  • Four types of radial corallite
    • Tubular nariform opening.
    • Nariform elongate opening.
    • Appressed tubular
    • Immersed.
  • Septa are variable but all have 2 cycles; the majority having 6 primary and 6 secondary. Some having 2 primary, 4 barely visible secondary.
Coenosteum:
  • Coenosteum around radials is costate.
  • Between radials it is reticulate.
  • The costae around the axial and radial corallites are similar with shark-like teeth.
Grouping:
Acropora humilis group. Even though you describe the axial corallite as being "large and dominant", there is one species in this group with small axials (globiceps).
I took some closeup pictures of the coenosteum, this one of the coenosteum between the corallites.

This is a closeup of the coenosteum around the corallites.:

This page updated last on December 12, 2006.

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