Zoanthid & Palythoa Species identification.

[i2as kass]

General question for you ID experts out there, why don't we see more specific scientific listings on the zoa species we keep?

I seem to have knowledge of many actual species name for SPS (montipora digitata, acropora millepora..), LPS (Catalaphyllia jardinei, blastomussa merletti...) and softies but never see zoas called specifically by a species name always just zoa sp. or paly sp. (Or more commonly by trade names).

Is something like a soprano and a darth maul considered the same species just a different color morph? Where do we draw the species line? I would love to hear some input from reef central members.

 

[livingcorals]

might want to ask in the non ID forum

But the soprano and darth maul are the names but not species type. (paly) If you say I have a paly that which one? RPE, PPE.. ect.

Check out Japanese deep water zoanthids.. For the most part people say its a species other say morphs....

 

[Nicodemus85]

I realize this thread is a year old, so you probably have the answer to your question. If not, here is my 2 cents. Taxonomy on soft corals is still in its infantile stages and relies heavily on the development of genomic codes, a fast-growing, albeit young science. Stony corals are so well classified in part because of their distinct morphologies whereas soft corals exhibit all sorts of shapes and sizes within the same color morph, let alone species. For example, corallimorphs (aka mushrooms) barely have any taxonomy and you can count on your hand the number of different genus' currently classified. even though you can't count in your head the number of color morphs you have seen in tanks and lfs'. Beyond genus, at the species level, corallimorph classification is even more hazy. A lack of skeleton and structure, which is what taxonomy has relied on for years before DNA sequencing, is really what is holding back the taxonomic classification of soft corals and specifically zooanthids. So many different colors but so similar morphologies is really the problem