a thought on euphillia

[Wiz]

I have been a little confused on identifying certain types of euphillia. I could be wrong but it seems to me there is a type that is unidentified. Or rather a combination of three types And therefore in my eyes deserves its own name. All of the types vary in color. But physical trates vary by name. I bought a frag that was sold to me as a branching frog spawn. I do not believe that it is a true frog spawn. I then traded for a frag of branching hammer. Again I do not believe that it is a true hammer. Both of these frags appear to have the same characteristics to me. When I inquired about this on the boards I was told that they could possibly be a grape euphillia. But again in my eyes not a true grape. So here is my breakdown and reasoning.
FROGSPAWN
Available In both regular branching Or large branching Types. The large branching types have the appearance of one large mass. Both varieties have multiple arms that are covered in multie tips Giving the appearance of frog eggs. So "frogspawn" makes sense. The first pic is the large branch and the second is the small branching variety.

HAMMER
Hammer coral Also comes in two types One being a wall and the second being the small branching type Both types are made up of single arms With a curved tip That resembles a hammer. So "hammer" makes sense. The arms are tightly packed together giving it A flower like appearance.The 3rs pic is of the wall type The 4th picture is the branching type.

GRAPE
This type also seems to come in two varieties Both branching One with the small branching heads and another with elongated branching heads. Not quite walls But also not round. This type is also made of single arms But these arms are less tightly packed and seem to come to no distinguishable head other than the change in color on the round tip which looks like a grape. So "grape" makes sense. Probably The most distinguishable factor with this type Is the enlarged skeleton which can clearly be seen through the arms Giving it a very unique look. Picture 5 is the elongated branching type And picture 6 is the normal branching type.

This brings me to the type that I have. Seeming to have characteristics of all three previously listed.

HYBRID
This one seems to come in only the small branching type. It is made up of single arms That are loosely packed like a grape.These arms show all three types of tip. Some have the curling hammer type tip, Some have the multi tipped look of a frog spawn, And some come to just the normal round tip like a grape. You cannot see the bone structure through the coral as with the grape. This type has been sold to me as both frog spawn and hammer. And was then suggested to be possibly a grape. I think we need a new name for this type. The last two pics are the corals sold to me. The first as a hammer and the second as a frogspawn which I feel are both inaccurate.

 

[Wiz]

I could really use opinions here. I feel that calling these pieces frogspawn or hammer is misleading. Yet everyone does. Anyone??

 

[cginter]

I would say they are hammer corals. Except maybe the first two. Can't really see them well.

 

[Wiz]

I listed what the first 6 are.. its the last 2 that are in question

 

[joshkirkland83]

I have one like that i bought from wwc. They called it a hammer frog.

 

[Wiz]

I have one like that i bought from wwc. They called it a hammer frog.

So they agree then

 

[joshkirkland83]

So they agree then

I would say so. What about octospawn, i see you didnt say anything about that.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

1. Octospawn (Frogspawn)
2. Octospawn (Frogspawn)
   
3. Wall Hammer
4. Branching Hammer (Bicolor)
5. Branching Hammer
6. Branching Hammer
7. Frogspawn (Circle'd area is growth)
8. Frogspawn (Circle'd area is growth)

 

[Sabellafella]

Last pick i got,same color, its all 3 also but litterally you can see the difference ill post a pick tomorro its half hammer half frogspawn with a bunch of long torch tips

 

[cmcoker]

I have an euphyllia that was sold to me at LFS as a hybrid. I call it a frammer ☺when I bought it:

Current :

Another from when I got it:

Has hammer tips, but gets spots along the sides like frogspawn.

 

[joshkirkland83]

1. Octospawn (Frogspawn)
2. Octospawn (Frogspawn)
   
3. Wall Hammer
4. Branching Hammer (Bicolor)
5. Branching Hammer
6. Branching Hammer
7. Frogspawn (Circle'd area is growth)
8. Frogspawn (Circle'd area is growth)

This what wwc sold me. This pic is from their live sale.

 

[cmcoker]

I have been told mine is a hammer with growth on the forums and not a hybrid..
But I think my LFS was right.
It is a reputable store, and they were selling it for less per head than the regular frogspawn and hammer. So I don't think it was a marketing ploy.. I don't know what their motivation would be otherwise.

 

[Wiz]

5 and 6 are defaniyly grape coral. They look nothing like a hammer. Octospawn seems like an invented name. But if anything it means bigger tips. 1and 2 are not octo. And 7and8 look nothing like frogspawn. They do not look like eggs which is where the name comes from. I respectfully dissagree.

1. Octospawn (Frogspawn)
2. Octospawn (Frogspawn)
   
3. Wall Hammer
4. Branching Hammer (Bicolor)
5. Branching Hammer
6. Branching Hammer
7. Frogspawn (Circle'd area is growth)
8. Frogspawn (Circle'd area is growth)

 

[Wiz]

I would say so. What about octospawn, i see you didnt say anything about that.

Octospawn Is a made up name. Its a frog with thicker tips. It is still physically a frogspawn.

 

[Wiz]

If all the arms have multiple tips than it is a frogspawn in my opinion. Which would appear the case. This is what some call an octospawn. Because of the bigger tips. But still a spawn as it looks like eggs.

I have an euphyllia that was sold to me at LFS as a hybrid. I call it a frammer ☺when I bought it:

Current :

Another from when I got it:

Has hammer tips, but gets spots along the sides like frogspawn.

 

[Wiz]

This one seems to be like pics 7and8. I feel it is a mix or hybrid. Some of the arms have one tip and others multiple.to me that is a hybrid. If all the arms are not the same (with exception to the smaller new growth thats yet to fully grow in) than it does not fit one description.

This what wwc sold me. This pic is from their live sale.

 

[Wiz]

Are there any arms that only have a single tip? Or does every arm have multiple tips?

I have been told mine is a hammer with growth on the forums and not a hybrid..
But I think my LFS was right.
It is a reputable store, and they were selling it for less per head than the regular frogspawn and hammer. So I don't think it was a marketing ploy.. I don't know what their motivation would be otherwise.

 

[cmac330]

Octospawn is in fact not made up but is Euphyllia yaeyamaensis, however neither of yours are this. I believe the second picture is in fact a frogspawn and as it acclimates and gets healthier in your tank will tank on more of the frogspawn features. In my experience newly acclimated frogspawn (Euphyllia divisa/paradivisa) do not always look like we expect them to as they tend not to fully extend. The first I believe is a hammer (Euphyllia ancora/paraancora) that possibly just grew a couple extra tips. However, species identification is difficult because technical identification is done by using the skeleton. http://coral.aims.gov.au/factsheet.jsp?speciesCode=0499 you can see in the pictures on the aims site that frogspawn can even look like Euphyllia cristata (what you refer to as grape coral) when they are retracted or under different lighting. In the end all Euphyllia really have similar care and so as long as you are happy with the specimen and like how it looks, it really doesn't matter the species. Give the two some time and if they acclimate well you will be better able to judge which species they are.

 

[Wiz]

Seems some like to overcomplicate things. Simple descriptions can describe all of them.

Frog- every arm has multiple tips

Hammer- every arm has one hammer shaped tip.

Grape- every arm has single round tip and can see bone in the coral.

Torch- every arm is elongated with a single round tip.

Bubble- has bubbles instead of arms.

Hybrid- has multiple types of arms. (One or more with a single hammer tip, one ore more with multiple tips, and/or one or more with a single round tip)


In order to call it a hybrid it must have miltiple types of arms. In my opinion

 

[cmac330]

1. 
   

In the first photo is yaeyamaensis next to paradivisa at my local store. The second photo is a frogspawn with hammer shaped tips I refer to as a frammer.