Coal ID

[ARCkeeper]

Does anyone know what this coral is? It was given to me as a small frag and the donor said “I think it’s some sort of chalice”. At first it looked like a chalice but I almost lost it during a tank crash and as I nursed it back to health the appearance changed drastically. Each polyp has a fleshy skirt. It resembles a rock of hairy mushrooms shingled over one another. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Goaway]

at first I thought leptoseris, but I don't know now...

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

not sure, but it does look cool!

 

[Goaway]

Second guess, lithophyllon undulatum.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

Second guess, lithophyllon undulatum.

I think you're onto something there, I have seen lithophyllon lasted as a chalice coral and that's what the donor thought it was

 

[fishguy242]

beautiful coral... any idea ? @Eagle_Steve @F i s h y ?

 

[Goaway]

on a small joking matter, i hope this is the kind of coal santa is bringing me. /look at topic name.

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

on a small joking matter, i hope this is the kind of coal santa is bringing me. /look at topic name.

 

[ARCkeeper]

Second guess, lithophyllon undulatum.

You might have it there. Many of the pictures of lithophyllon I found online look almost identical to the original appearance of the colony.

 

[Goaway]

It's an absolutely gorgeous coral

 

[ARCkeeper]

So what I'm thinking is that when the colony almost died it began growing back from several small bits of viable tissue. As these "mini colonies" grew into each other they formed the fleshy skirts in an attempt to overgrow one another. I really like the way the coral looks but I really don't think that it's a normal growth pattern. We'll see what happens in the future, but I think lithophyllon is a good ID.

 

[F i s h y]

@fishguy242 I think this is a tongue or slipper coral. I think when it died back like the OP said it came back in several places like some plate corals do and formed several colonis.

 

[F i s h y]