first SPS, can you ID please?

[goldmaniac]

This is an ORA Scripps Staghorn, i'm told, but then after research i've seen there's more than one species of Acro described as a Staghorn.

Can anyone ID please with scientific name?

this is under 460 nm SunPacs

<img src="http://www.goldmaniac.com/pictures/fishtank/20081110_fishtank/ora-scripps-stag2_20081111.jpg" border="0" alt="">


<img src="http://www.goldmaniac.com/pictures/fishtank/20081110_fishtank/ora-scripps-stag_20081111.jpg" border="0" alt="">

thanks

 

[Shadowramy]

Yes, there are a ton of Acroporas with the common name staghorn, just like there are tons with a common name tabling acropora or branching acropora. Wallace has a good book on these called Staghorns of the World showing alot of the common names. She is probably the best there is when it comes to Acropora identifying.

From the pictures, this looks like an ORA Scripps.

 

[goldmaniac]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13726487#post13726487 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shadowramy


From the pictures, this looks like an ORA Scripps.

Yes, I was told it was an ORA Scripps and said so in OP. but that's not a species, is it? ORA is a aquaculture facility and Scripps is Scripps Institute of Oceanography, or something, I thought.

So what does it mean to say that it's an ORA Scripps stag?

thanks

 

[goldmaniac]

don't mean to sound like a smart a$$. genuinely interested in learning what that means.

 

[Shadowramy]

ORA is the company that usually aquacultures frags, which means it is probably a 5 or 6 generation frag removed from the wild.

Staghorn is a generic name. Scripps is the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego who orginally cultured this coral.

The longer aquacultured corals are removed from the wild and "conditioned" to enclosed systems with different lighting sources the more their morphology and color is changed, thus harder to make accurate identifications.

I would tend to believe the ORA Scripps is a A. horrida. The colonies that I have seen are arborescent to caespitose (a stag that is bushy), the outline growth form looks indeterminate. The radials look like they are all one sized and lipped. Branch thickness is thin 2.5-5mm and the radials no not touch. This leads me to believe it is A. horrida.

 

[myzislow]

The ora scripps "stag" is defnitely not an horrida. If it was mine would be dead a long time ago as there is no way an horrida would live in my tank; ive tried and failed many times.

I think the scripps stag resembles an Acropora microphthalma much more then an a Horrida.

 

[Shadowramy]

Could be A. microphthalma, but A. microphthalma is in the same grouping species as A. horrida, which is A. horrida.

Biggest difference between the two is the branch size. A. microphthalma branch size is typically thicker between 10-20mm where as the A. horrida is thin between 2.5-5m.

 

[SoundsFishy2me2]

Looks like my ORA Scripps, but the color is much darker green, deep green.

 

[goldmaniac]

don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but the branches are about 6mm - 8 mm in width.

I thank everyone for helping with this ID so far.

again i will reiterate that i was told it's an ORA Scripps staghorn. I'm trying to determine the species of staghorn.

thanks -

E.G.

 

[goldmaniac]

6mm - 8mm INCLUDING the polyps. I guess the actual branches are about 5 mm thick, about the width of a Cross pen.

 

[SoundsFishy2me2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13765833#post13765833 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by goldmaniac
don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but the branches are about 6mm - 8 mm in width.

I thank everyone for helping with this ID so far.

again i will reiterate that i was told it's an ORA Scripps staghorn. I'm trying to determine the species of staghorn.

thanks -

E.G.

Looks like one from the pic. Only that colors tend to be darker, but that could be just the pic or the coral not settled in yet. It's nice coral.

 

[goldmaniac]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13768240#post13768240 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SoundsFishy2me2
Looks like one from the pic. Only that colors tend to be darker, but that could be just the pic or the coral not settled in yet. It's nice coral.

thanks, it's a beautiful piece another RC'er sold to me.

but i don't know what you mean at all from what you said.

Again, 4th time, I'll state that I know it's an ORA Scripps stag,

but i want to know the species.

anyone?

 

[Shadowramy]

I still say A. horrida, heres the specs on an A. horrida:

Wallace Table
Branching Formation: Around a single axial corallie
Branching Orders: tertiary or later orders present
Colony Outline: indeterminate
Predominate Outline: arborescent (incl. Arborescent-hispidose, sub subarborescent)
Branch Diameter: 50/50
Coenosteum: same on and between radial corallites
Radial Corallite Coenosteum: reticultate
Between radials coenosteum: reticultate
Spinule shape: single pointed
Radial corallite sizes: one size or graded
Radial corallite inner wall: developed
Radial corallite shape: lipped
Radial corallite openings: oval to rounded
Axial:radial ratio: many radials (more than 10 per axial)
Axial corallite outer diameter: small (1.0-2.9mm)
Radial Corallites: medium
Branch Thickness: thin (2.5-4.9mm)
Branch taper (below growing tip): terete (no taper)
Max. branch length (terminal branches): long (100 mm or more)
Radial crowding: radials don’t touch
Axial corallite synapticular rings: two
Skeletal porosity: radial walls porous
Radial corallite synapticular rings: two

 

[Shadowramy]

Alright, I really stat down and looked at mine and bleached a piece off to id. This actually has much of the same identifiers as A. micropthalama

 

[goldmaniac]

interesting - I think this (a. microphthalma) is closer than any other suggestion, looks correct to my inexperienced eyes, at least -

I found this:

http://www.newengland.reefbuilders.com/sps/2460-acropora-microphthalma-stag.html

This looks like my frag, and i was concerned about minimal/moderate polyp extension but this states that's natural