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Monti ID

Coral Identification: Coral 8

This will be a page to document the ID of Forestal (Dan).
This will be my own experience documenting another coral for ID, acro type. The LFS donated this so i could help save the small pieces. Coral used: original:

Fragment bleached:

Coral description: I think Caespitos, as we have a nice older colony, albeit dead.
Axial Corallites:

  • Septae: 12
  • Cycles of septa: 2
  • Septal height: non exert
  • primary septae extend far into the corallite, secondary do not
  • Paliform structures:
  • axial corallite is 3mm outer and 1mm inner diameter

    Axial pic:

    Radial corallites:

    • tubular with oblique openings, some immersed
    • radials contribute a lot to the branch width
    • most radial corallites with diamter 1.2mm, inner diameter 0.7mm
    • septa in 2 cycles, with primary, extending 2/3 to center, secondary small and narrow
    • appear to have 2 synapticular rings (unable to geta good pic)
    Radial corallites:

    Immersed:
    Growth Form:
    • Ramos
    • branches show some tertiaries
    • axials contribute slightly more to branch width
    Coenosteum:
    • appears reticulate between the radials and simple/double spinnules on the radials

    pic of reticulate above and spinnules on radial below:

    Looking at Wallace's species Keys:
    1.branch formation: 0 - branch around single axial
    2.branching orders: 0 - tertiary present
    3.colony outline: 0 - focused origin
    4.Predominant outline: 5 - coryambose/caespitose
    5.Branch diameter: 2 - 50/50
    6.Coenosteum: 0 - same
    7.Radial coralite coenosteum: 4 - dense spinules
    8.Between radials coenosteum: 1 - reticulate
    9.Spinule shape: 2 - forked
    10.Radial corallite sizes: 0 - same
    11.Radial corallite inner wall: 0 - developed
    12.Radial corallite shape: 7 - tubular (some immersed)
    13.Radial corallite openings: 1 - nariform to rounded
    14.Axial/radial ratio: 1 - many radials
    15.Axial coralite outer diameter: 1 - medium (most are 3mm)
    16.Radial corallites: 2 - medium (as compared to axials)
    17.Branch thickness: 1 - thick (12mm)
    18.Branch taper: 1 - conical
    19.Max branch length: still too young a colony (longest branch is 90mm)
    20.Radial crowding: 0 - dont touch
    21.Axial corallite syn rings: 1 - 3 (i'm not good at this)
    22.Skeletal porosity: 1 - not porous
    23.Radial cor syn rings: 0 - 2 (again from what i can tell)
    From this list , the closest match comes to A. divaricata and A. hoeksemai

    This page updated last on December 12, 2006.

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