When a montipora capricornis looks like a montipora???

[undertai]

I have a montipora capricornis or so I that until it started growing upwards. Not In whorling plates but branch like shoots coming out the center. It does have the whorling plates on the edges but now shoots or braches are growing out of the middle where it is pretty much flat!

If not a montipora capricornis what else could it be? Will post a picture as soon as possible.

 

[tangwang]

There are many, many types of Montipora, but without a pic, its impossible to i.d.





Matt

 

[JB NY]

There are aprox 72 other species it could be other than M. capricornis.

FWIW most corals sold as M. capricornis are not even close.

 

[thebicyclecafe]

Montis take on different growth forms depending on their environment. It is very likely that a plating Monti take on a digitate or branching growth form due to environmental conditions such as flow and light. They are very versatile animals. Definitely post a picture though.

 

[duec22]

Sure it's not a aquituberculata (AKA nodulating cap) and not a capricornis.

 

[slojmn]

Would love to see a picture, sounds like a cool growth pattern. As others have said there are many, many growth patterns and types of montis. Hard to ever really know. The bigger questions is, do you like it?

 

[MiddletonMark]

Montipora can be highly variable with growth form.

FWIW, a local guy had one of the most amazing plating Montipora - and once it `got to size' it sent up all these small `pillars' of vertical growth up. IMO, made it nicer than the average cap [IMO, generic term for plating Montipora, the way danae is for encrusting forms ...]

 

[undertai]

This is the best angle I could get a good picture at. The larger one I can only get a top down shot and it is under a glass brace so the picture wouldn't be that good.

But you can see from the picture that it is a couple of shoots starting to grow upwards. Exspecailly the one closest to the glass.

 

[MiddletonMark]

undertai -

Take a look at the interesting `pillars' growing out on the top plates of this `Monti cap' a local grew.

Lots of variation among the plating forms in `additional characteristics' IMO. Yours likely to be a different, but great variation

Not the most colorful, but yet one of the nicer plating Monti colonies I've gotten to see a few times.

 

[slojmn]

Mark, Wow, Super cool growth pattern on that cap. Very nice.

undertai, That is a sweet piece.

 

[MiddletonMark]

slomjn ... just to re-confirm, that isn't mine.
Just one of the guys who inspired me to move towards mostly SPS