Bubble Coral ID

[bluemon]

Ever since I saw this article, I’ve always wanted the diabolotus bubble coral.

https://reefbuilders.com/2020/03/02/plerogyra-diabolotus-the-devils-bubble-coral-in-our-reef-tank/
Colors can vary and can get boring, but the texture was something I’ve never seen in other LPSs before.

Normally I would pass up the regular bubble corals as well since the color was just whatever and the shapes were very big standard as well.

Then I saw this piece at the LFS today, and I knew I had to have it.

Anyone know what species of Plerogya it is?

It is Walling, and is bluish grayish flesh toned. Think the “dull” sections of euphyllia

Also wondering if there was a special care requirement for this particular species beyond the typical bubble coral’s low flow and low light. And away from other corals.

I have some euphyllia above the ledge but that should be okay.. right?

 

[thamnasteroid]

could also be Physogyra

I have some euphyllia above the ledge but that should be okay.. right?

Prolly not; they're unrelated (Euphylliidae clusters with Pachyseris while Plerogyridae is basal to Oulastrea/heterocyathus) and both are a little aggressive, so I wouldn't do it.

 

[thamnasteroid]

In addition, diabolotus—along with the rest of the species described in Diltev (2003)—aren't well-studied and are poorly differentiated from sinuosa and simplex, so I wouldn't jump so quickly to that ID.

 

[bluemon]

could also be Physogyra


Prolly not; they're unrelated (Euphylliidae clusters with Pachyseris while Plerogyridae is basal to Oulastrea/heterocyathus) and both are a little aggressive, so I wouldn't do it.

Could be, but none of the pictures have the weird lines on the bubbles I see on the specimen.

There is a layer of white rock (the ledge) they are separated by that I was hoping to ward off any sweepers but I’ll keep an eye out to see if they sting tonight

 

[thamnasteroid]

Could be, but none of the pictures have the weird lines on the bubbles I see on the specimen.

There is a layer of white rock (the ledge) they are separated by that I was hoping to ward off any sweepers but I’ll keep an eye out to see if they sting tonight

Vescicle morphology is not really a good way to ID these, which is why Diltev's Plerogyra species are so poorly-defined.

Reef Builders also don't always have the most accurate IDs; if anything, their specimen is a cauliformis, not diabolotus.

Plerogyra is phaceloid/flabello-meandroid while Physogyra is meandroid. Make your coral close up; it the skeleton is branching/wall like a Euphyllia, then it's a Plerogyra; if it's one solid mass, then it's a Physogyra

 

[bluemon]

Vescicle morphology is not really a good way to ID these, which is why Diltev's Plerogyra species are so poorly-defined.

Reef Builders also don't always have the most accurate IDs; if anything, their specimen is a cauliformis, not diabolotus.

Plerogyra is phaceloid/flabello-meandroid while Physogyra is meandroid. Make your coral close up; it the skeleton is branching/wall like a Euphyllia, then it's a Plerogyra; if it's one solid mass, then it's a Physogyra

Thank you for the distinction.

What would you mean by one solid mass?

At a small scale, wouldn’t a walling skeleton be one solid mass?

To be more clear, wouldn’t a frag of of a phaceloid/flabello-meandroid looks pretty much the same as a meandroid coral, as they are cut up?

 

[thamnasteroid]

Thank you for the distinction.

What would you mean by one solid mass?

At a small scale, wouldn’t a walling skeleton be one solid mass?

To be more clear, wouldn’t a frag of of a phaceloid/flabello-meandroid looks pretty much the same as a meandroid coral, as they are cut up?

What I mean is adjacent valleys are joined together similar to Platygyra instead of separated like Euphyllia. In frags, there would be only a single valley with Plerogyra vs multiple adjacent ones in Physogyra.
Phaceloid/flabello-meandroid frags shouldn't look the same as meandroid frags, as you can tell where they're cut up. Meandroid frags are cut on all four sides while flabello-meandroid frags are cut on only two, and phaceloid frags are only cut on the bottom. You can also tell by the presence of epitheca on the sides.

 

[bluemon]

What I mean is adjacent valleys are joined together similar to Platygyra instead of separated like Euphyllia. In frags, there would be only a single valley with Plerogyra vs multiple adjacent ones in Physogyra.
Phaceloid/flabello-meandroid frags shouldn't look the same as meandroid frags, as you can tell where they're cut up. Meandroid frags are cut on all four sides while flabello-meandroid frags are cut on only two, and phaceloid frags are only cut on the bottom. You can also tell by the presence of epitheca on the sides.

Ah got it. Then it’s a Plerogyra for sure

 

[bluemon]

Here is the nighttime shot with the skeleton showing a bit more and tentacles out of that helps a bit more.

 

[Waters]

I have something similar....not 100% sure on the species though....this is a dark picture but the lines are all a light blue and show up much more than this pic.

 

[bluemon]

As a bit of an update, I did see a similar specimen for sale on one of the sponsors of R2R.


https://www.corals.com/product/pearl-bubble-coral-aussie-23/
I did confirm with other shops and they all label it at an Australian pearl bubble.

Maybe giving more credence to it being a Physogyra sp. out of Australia? Not sure what species are found there.

 

[thamnasteroid]

As a bit of an update, I did see a similar specimen for sale on one of the sponsors of R2R.


https://www.corals.com/product/pearl-bubble-coral-aussie-23/
I did confirm with other shops and they all label it at an Australian pearl bubble.

Maybe giving more credence to it being a Physogyra sp. out of Australia? Not sure what species are found there.

Common names can be misleading. There is a Plerogyra species (also described in Diltev 2003) whose vescicles are morphologically similar to Physogyra.