High Tide Aquatics

Strange or run-of-the-mill Euphyllia?

gerbilbox

gerbilbox

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Any Euphyllia experts here tell me what I have here? I long presumed that it was a hammer, but the tentacle shape doesn't look "quite right." The tips have a fatter, rounder shape than the hammers than I'm used to seeing. I'm thinking it's just a funny-looking hammer, but then I read about this potentially new Euphyllia species that looks rather similar. I'm not cocky to think that I have a brand new species in my tank, but I want to poke at the possibility just in case. Then again, I haven't seen all Euphyllias.
 
I am definitely not a coral expert, but I have coral that looks like yours, and someone once identified it as grape coral.
 
I don't think that's it, but then again common names aren't very reliable. I've heard of grape coral refer to Euphyllia cristata, which I also have but looks distinctly different from the photo above. E. cristata is more like a frogspawn without the multiple tips, while the photo above (and in the link) looks like a "fat hammer." So you have a fat hammer?
 
I have some "frog torch" and some "hammer torch", so I don't see there not being any "hammer frog" out there, prolly just a slight aberrancy.
 
It looks very much like the one I got from Jess. The problem is that there are so many factors that can affect coral morphology. Without genetic/microscopic examination in a lot of cases it's a crap shoot to identify specific species within families/genera. For example Sinularias are very difficult to tell appart. Sinlaria dura has two distinct growth habits that don't look anything like each other, but each growth habit can be confused with different Sinularia sp.. One is broad and leaf like and the other is tall and finger like. The deciding factor in this case is water movement.

The short version: you need to be very careful IDing corals from pics. :)

-Gregory
 
GDawson said:
It looks very much like the one I got from Jess. The problem is that there are so many factors that can affect coral morphology. Without genetic/microscopic examination in a lot of cases it's a crap shoot to identify specific species within families/genera. For example Sinularias are very difficult to tell appart. Sinlaria dura has two distinct growth habits that don't look anything like each other, but each growth habit can be confused with different Sinularia sp.. One is broad and leaf like and the other is tall and finger like. The deciding factor in this case is water movement.

The short version: you need to be very careful IDing corals from pics. :)

-Gregory
Click to expand...

from what I have heard.... The more we apply genetics, the more we find there are actually far less species then previously thought.
 
Hey I just commented, you can't LUMP me in with the Lumpers, that makes YOU a LUMPER :lol:

It was actually really interesting reading. You know the place. Rob Toonen (IIRC) was talking about some work done on some Anacapora and it turned out it was an Acropora and we've been wrong all along.
 
Scroll down on this page for an oddball:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1812925&page=2

Also this one is weird:

http://vegasreefers.com/forums/showthread.php?2006-hammerspawn

Yours looks neat too, but I think you'd need to let it grow large and see if it keeps the trait.
 
Any chance you can spit out an article title, or author, or anything I can search a DB with? Finals are ending soon and some interesting reads sound fun. Just finished with a bunch of review articles comparing coral growth to plant growth.

[
Gresham said:
It was actually really interesting reading. You know the place.
Click to expand...
 
anathema said:
Scroll down on this page for an oddball:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1812925&page=2

Also this one is weird:

http://vegasreefers.com/forums/showthread.php?2006-hammerspawn

Yours looks neat too, but I think you'd need to let it grow large and see if it keeps the trait.
Click to expand...

That orange hammer is very cool. I've seen them at Neptunes and have thought about getting one. That other hammer down the page is WAY cool! I've never seen anything like it. I wonder if it's a unique mutation? Kinda hard to beleive that something like that hasn't made it into the hobby yet if it's fom a regular collecting area.

-Gregory

-Gregory
 
phishphood said:
Any chance you can spit out an article title, or author, or anything I can search a DB with? Finals are ending soon and some interesting reads sound fun. Just finished with a bunch of review articles comparing coral growth to plant growth.

[
Gresham said:
It was actually really interesting reading. You know the place.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

there may be an article but this was on a private forum where researchers were talking about it. I would be banned for saying anymore.
 
tuberider said:
I have some "frog torch" and some "hammer torch", so I don't see there not being any "hammer frog" out there, prolly just a slight aberrancy.
Click to expand...

"Hammer frog" can't end well :)

GDawson said:
It looks very much like the one I got from Jess. The problem is that there are so many factors that can affect coral morphology. Without genetic/microscopic examination in a lot of cases it's a crap shoot to identify specific species within families/genera. For example Sinularias are very difficult to tell appart. Sinlaria dura has two distinct growth habits that don't look anything like each other, but each growth habit can be confused with different Sinularia sp.. One is broad and leaf like and the other is tall and finger like. The deciding factor in this case is water movement.

The short version: you need to be very careful IDing corals from pics. :)
Click to expand...

I know, I just remember from when I used to ID plants, I would have to wait for the damn thing to fruit before I could key it out but show one leaf to someone who's studied that group for half their life and they can name it in an instant. Euphyllias seem to have more distinct fleshy morphology than many other corals so I was also hoping to just get lucky with an ID without getting into genetics or microscopic skeleton variations :)

anathema said:
Scroll down on this page for an oddball:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1812925&page=2

Also this one is weird:

http://vegasreefers.com/forums/showthread.php?2006-hammerspawn

Yours looks neat too, but I think you'd need to let it grow large and see if it keeps the trait.
Click to expand...

Those are some pretty cool looking variations. I wouldn't mind a frag.
 
GDawson said:
You know it could just be screwing with you and is actually a hybrid.

-Gregory
Click to expand...

Seems like hybrids have been screwing with me for half my life, but if it were true I would feel kinda lucky in this case :)
 
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