Who wants to take a stab at an oddball ID?

[Anonymous]

Got this from Tonga two months ago. They thought this was a laptastrea, but it does not look like any I've ever seen.

For size reference, those green center palythoa's are giant mexican saucer polyps @ ~1 1/4" across (and they keep that bright green color, in daylight or actinic ).
In a few pics, you can see a Morning Star monti (browned out flesh a bit). These shots were taken an hour after feeding, that's why the mouths are still open
Also, the white edges seen, are where the piece was removed from the rest of the colony/reef head. It hasn't grown, nor recedded.
This is as extened as it's ever been. I don't think it's a goni, nor a laptastrea, so what is it?

These next two are after I used a turkey baster to get them t retract. This is as rectracted as they get really, at least since the piece has been stateside.

 

[jusreefin]

look like a pagoda to me. Just a different structure then we are uesed to seeing

 

[Anonymous]

If you saw it, you wouldn't think that 18 tentac;es to the polyp, thin encrusting colony, dense coralite stucture with deep coralites. It resembles a cross between an Alve and a Goni. It's tentacle count is smack dap in the middle of each of those though :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Check the bottom pic out. You can see how the coralites stick out of the skeleton, like for example, favias do. It encrusts over rocks, in a 1/4" skeleton for the most part. I looked thru the turb. sp's, none have a coralite structure like this one. I could definitly see where you'd think that though, after looking at some of those pics They seem to have a high tentacles count as well, like mid 20's.

 

[Anonymous]

Gresh, could you possibly post a pic of it when the polyps are retracted? I'd like to get a better look at it's structure.

 

[Anonymous]

I tried my damdest to get that thing to close more, but that last pic is what I got I'll give it another whirl today though. Maybe I'll frag off a bit, that usually makes em close the most :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

I tried my damdest to get that thing to close more, but that last pic is what I got

Yeah, I had a feeling that might be the case. This for sure came from tonga? Man, you really got yourself an oddball here.

 

[Anonymous]

I tried my damdest to get that thing to close more, but that last pic is what I got

Yeah, I had a feeling that might be the case. This for sure came from tonga? Man, you really got yourself an oddball here.

Unloaded the shipment myself, and grabbed this and a few others as payment

Definitly Tonga

 

[Anonymous]

There's no bare skeleton on this, is there? No area of recession we could look at?

If I were going to take a wild-ass-guess, I'd wonder if it isn't a madracis? The tantacle count I'm completely unsure of, but I've seen photos of encrusting forms with a similiar look to both the polyps and the skeletal structure. Only madracis I ever had first hand experience with was very, very different though.

Here's a pic of the skeleton of one, and a live shot.

 

[Anonymous]

<grabs Veron book #2>
Madracis...Madracis...Ahhhh, Madracis Kirbyi.....Hmmmm, now that looks like it Thanks CJ

Funny thing is, I had this page all ready tagged as a speices I wanted them to look for :lol:

I'll get a better coralite pic tonight still though, gotta be sure

http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/ht ... es/239.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Aims page says it usually only has it's polyps open at night, this one always has them open. Hmmm.

 

[Anonymous]

Check this out... purple encrusting madracis at Drs F&S (they want $500 for it, btw).

 

[Anonymous]

Yah, I talked to Kevin Kohen about it at MACNA, as well as to a few collectors You'll be seeing more of it now, and it won't be called purple gonipora any longer :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

So, did you frag any of that? Inquiring minds want to know...

Peace,

Chip

 

[Anonymous]

Not yet, but I can grab a new colony weekly. Usually 3 - 4 come in at the two local wholesalers I frequent

 

[Anonymous]

In fact Chip, look what I just bought :Lol:

Now what do you think I could uset his for, and don't say to retile my bathroom (unless your flying out to do it for me )