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VegasReefing

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Hey all.

Can anyone ID these two corals?


20260906_153256_C9C2B05D-10C4-4377-8E2B-11024B80B0A9.png


20260906_153256_F03EC8C2-43AD-468D-9776-0EA9A633B50D.png
 
My LFS has them in the $20 section and thought they were a good deal just can’t remember what they said they were 😭😭
 
First one is Paragoniastrea australensis, second one is Coelastrea palauensis ( sensu Veron)

Compare:
Paragoniastrea australensis | Gold Coast, Australia | Credit: Dr. Kelly Anne Masterman
8470.jpg

Coelastrea palauensis ( sensu Veron) | Queensland, Australia | Credit: Rachelle Brown
1788740216552.png


not Favites, Favites doesn't have a strong paliform crown, has more rounded thecae and generally doesn't have mottling. Compare:
Favites flexuosa | Komodo, Indonesia | Credit: @thamnasteroid (me!!)
1283.jpg


green seems to be goniastrea
The green is definitely a toxic splatter goniastrea, I used to have one exactly like that a while back, they’re care is pretty much the same as favia
not Goniastrea, corallites too large and coloration isn't right for Goniastrea, which is usually brown or pale, at most having green oral discs. Compare:
Goniastrea pectinata | Red Sea, Egypt | Credit: @thamnasteroid (me!!)
7567.jpg


That kind of looks like platygyra to me but @Tahoe61 could probably tell you what it is
not Platygyra, Platygyra usually has more uneven/alternating septa, higher calice relief, and no paliform lobes. Compare:
Platygyra sp. | Batangas, Philippines | Credit: Gregor Bailar
1788740094291.png
 
Last edited:
First one is Paragoniastrea australensis, second one is Coelastrea palauensis ( sensu Veron)

Compare:
Paragoniastrea australensis | Gold Coast, Australia | Credit: Dr. Kelly Anne Masterman
8470.jpg

Coelastrea palauensis ( sensu Veron) | Queensland, Australia | Credit: Rachelle Brown
1788740216552.png



Out of curiosity as far as the green coral how is it not goniastrea? Goniastrea do not only have brown colorations and I have even owned the same thing as well as the same coral being sold on multiple different sites as goniastrea is this misidentification? Or a genus change?
 
Last edited:
@Baldyreef genus change, moved to Coelastrea ~2014. true Goniastrea are almost always brown, at most having a green oral disc or teal accented septa.
 

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