Coral ID help

[trmiv]

I got this in a buy 2 get 1 free special at Living Reef like 5 months ago when my daughter insisted she wanted it. It was like plain at the time but has since gotten nice blue marbling and a really cool subtle dark blue glow in the red. Any idea exactly what it is?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

It’s exactly amazing!!! Ha!

 

[damsels are not mean]

I think lobophyllia. Specific fancy name I have no idea. Coloration on these and a lot of other "brain" corals is so dependent on lighting and often just random chance. Sometimes they "graft" themselves LOL

 

[rtparty]

Looks to be a micromussa of some kind

 

[MaxTremors]

My first thought was that it was a Micromussa lordhowensis (formerly Acanthestrea), but I think it may actually be a Goniastrea or a Favia, micro lords don’t have polyps that share walls like that. It could be a lobophyllia, but the polyps look pretty small, lobos usually have much bigger polyps.

 

[trmiv]

It’s pretty aggressive. It has been releasing some pretty long sweepers and zapping those gobtopper zoas next to it.

 

[Peace River]

It's a nice looking piece! Have the colors continued to change or has the marbling spreading?

 

[kschweer]

Can you get a top down picture? Reminds me of a symphyllia wilsoni.

 

[MaxTremors]

It’s pretty aggressive. It has been releasing some pretty long sweepers and zapping those gobtopper zoas next to it.

So definitely not a micro lord. This is more evidence in the direction of Goniastrea/favia (definitely some sort of Faviid).

 

[MaxTremors]

Can you get a top down picture? Reminds me of a symphyllia wilsoni.

S. wilsoni has more meandering, maze like polyps, the polyps are in sort of a valley (columellae), and the walls of the valleys are separated by a little groove. Here’s a good example:

Also Symphyllia wilsoni has apparently been reclassified as Australophyllia wilsoni, didn’t know that until I went looking for a decent picture, lol.

 

[kschweer]

S. wilsoni has more meandering, maze like polyps, the polyps are in sort of a valley (columellae), and the walls of the valleys are separated by a little groove. Here’s a good example:

Also Symphyllia wilsoni has apparently been reclassified as Australophyllia wilsoni, didn’t know that until I went looking for a decent picture, lol.

Definitely does that’s why I was looking for a top down to see if it had that patterning at the top. One coral I have always wanted but never had.

Thanks for the info! Learn something new everyday.

 

[trmiv]

Hard to get a decent top view with my phone but here is one.