PE Zoanthid Catalogue

Wy Renegade

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One of my personal favorites among the various types of zoanthids is the group collectively referred to as PE or People Eater zoanthids. While it has been attempted here as well as on other forums, to my knowledge there is no definitive catalogue of the members of this particular group. I know that many of you have more varieties and better pictures than I do, so I thought it would be cool if individuals would contribute their photos of named varieties so we can create an R2R catalogue of the various PE morphs. Multiple pictures of the same morph are welcome. Rev has agreed to clean-up and sticky the catalogue once we get it going (perhaps he (or someone) can also combine descriptions and pictures of each PE morph into a single slide, that way perhaps they can be arranged alphabetically, and each morph would have its own slide). With your picture, please give the official name of your PE morph (if it has one) and describe the distinguishing characteristics of the particular morph; that way perhaps we can incorporate descriptions of the same morphs together. If possible, please list the source of your morph if it’s known (where or whom you acquired it from).

Please use the following format for each slide, and place each morph on its own slide. Thanks for contributing.


(Abreviation)PE ( (Official Name) People Eaters)
Green Mouth:
Oral Disc:
Skirt:
Bluish Mouth Ring:
Source:

ficklefins, I hope you will forgive me borrowing some comments and notes from your PPE and PE spotlight threads as well as the format. Didn't see any reason to recreate the wheel.

PE Spotlight Thread; https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/f142/r2r-spotlight-people-eaters-pe-12598.html
 
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Wy Renegade

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Identification of PE type zoanthids

Members of family Zoanthidae are arguably the most commonly named of all corals, and it is in fact a member of this group which is commonly identified as having first started the naming craze of corals. Blane Perun first collected, propagated, named and sold PPE (aka Purple People Eaters) in order to help fund a children’s charity. He tells the story on his own web site, Farms of the Sea (http://www.farms-of-thesea.com/catalog/fund_drive.html). This particular polyp has ranged in price from $200/polyp to its current price of around $20 to $50/polyp, and has inadvertently set the standard of a higher price for members of this particular species of zoanthids. The slow growth rate of the PPE polyp insures that it continues to be in high demand by hobbyists who feel they need to acquire this icon for their aquarium.

Perun originally identified this particular polyp as a palythoa, and thus they are still commonly (and incorrectly) referred to in the hobby as palys. However, Reimer later classified all PE's by DNA into their own species, Zoanthus gigantus.

The PPE polyp exhibited a set of easily identifiable characteristics and based on these characteristics a significant number of additional color morphs, many of them much more colorful than the original, have since been identified. These morphs are collectively grouped and referred to as PE (aka People Eater) zoas. It has been suggested that the People Eater moniker was given because of the large green mouth that this group exhibits.

The characteristics which distinguish members of this species include the following;

A large, typically colorful, oral disc;
PPE23Oct09.jpg



A neon green mouth;
DingDangpalys27Feb09.jpg



Although in some color morphs speckling can make the mouth color difficult to distinguish;
MilkywayPE22Oct09.jpg



And white (watermelon-like) striping on the underside of the polyp;
MiscPEpalystripes27March09.jpg



In my personal experience, most PEs also have short, fairly blunt-tipped tentacles in their skirt;
OPE27Feb09.jpg



Additional Info: Some morphs exhibit a bluish ring around the green mouth which distinguishes them from similar morphs. Morphs with the bluish ring are sometimes distinguished with the word “True” in their name, such as these True Red PEs;
PalyTrueRPE8March09.jpg
 
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Wy Renegade

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Care Requirements as summarized from the Spotlight series would tend to indicate that PE zoanthids do best under the following conditions;


Lighting: Medium; while most PE morphs grow/show best under medium to high lighting, light requirements do vary by individual morph. Remember to properly light acclimate all new polyps to your aquarium.

Flow: Medium to High; most PE morphs seem to do best in a medium to high flow area. Flow should be enough to cause the skirt to wave, but not enough to cause the polyps to close.

Feeding: Varies; most PE morphs acquire the majority of their nutrition from photosynthesis, and do fine without supplemental feeding. Some individuals have acquired higher growth rates through supplemental feeding of very fine foods.

Rarity: Varies; morphs range from unique and unattainable, to common
 
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DDPE (Ding Dang People Eaters)
Green Mouth: Yes
Oral Disc: Pinkish base with blue-black molting
Skirt: Pinkish tentacles with blue-black molting
Bluish Mouth Ring: Yes
Source: Hawaii (Aloha Corals)
Additional Info: Colors will fade under lower lighting

AC-003.jpg


DingDangpalys27Feb09.jpg


Faded Ding Dang's;
ZoaDingDang9Dec09.jpg
 
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Wy Renegade

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DPE (Dreamweaver People Eaters)
Green Mouth: Yes
Oral Disc: Bright green with dark striations, speckling, and a white ring on outside edge
Skirt: Reddish-brown tentacles with a white base
Bluish Mouth Ring:
Source: dtpollard/CoralJunkie
Additional Info: White outer ring expands under lower light

ZoaDreamWeaverzoas27Dec09.jpg


ZoaDreamWeaverzoas7Dec09.jpg
 
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EOPE (Envy Orange or Orange Envy People Eaters)
Green Mouth: Yes
Oral Disc: Orange base with darker striations
Skirt: Tentacles same orange as the oral disc
Bluish Mouth Ring: No
Source: Cody Lowe

ZoaEnvyOrangePE7Feb09.jpg
 
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GSPE (Green Speckled People Eaters)
Green Mouth: Yes
Oral Disc: Reddish with green highlights and speckles
Skirt: Tentacles same reddish as the oral disc with green speckles
Source: elyriamarine

ZoaGreenSpeckledPEfrag7Dec09.jpg
 
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JGGPE (Jolly Green Giant People Eaters)
Green Mouth: Yes
Oral Disc: Vibrant green with darker striations and a lavender ring on the outer edge
Skirt: Tentacles reddish with vibrant green splotches on the tips
Bluish Mouth Ring: No
Source: LFS

ZoaJollyGreenGiantPEzoas7Dec09.jpg


ZoaJollyGreenGiantPEfrag7Dec09.jpg
 
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NLPE (Northern Lights People Eaters)
Green Mouth: Yes
Oral Disc: Light blue with darker speckling scattered throughout
Skirt: Tannish base with scattered light blue speckles
Bluish Mouth Ring: No; although some do a have splotch of the darker coloring around the mouth
Source: Morval

ZoaNorthernLightszoas14Dec09.jpg
 
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TRPE (True Red People Eaters)
Green Mouth: Yes
Oral Disc: Vibrant red to brick red
Skirt: Tentacles same shade of red as oral disc
Bluish Mouth Ring: Yes
Source: Hawaii (Aloha Corals)

AC-002.jpg


PalyTrueRPE8March09.jpg
 
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Thats all I got folks, so post em up if you got em - and I know that lots of you do! Also, if I made errors or you got corrections, let me know - I'm no expert.
 
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IPE (Insane People Eaters)Simular but not Jolly Green Giant People Eaters
Green Mouth: Yes but Raised Lips
Oral Disc: Matalic Green Mouth with Dark Green and a Bright Vivid Powder Blue Ring on the Outer Edge
Skirt: Double Skirt with Short Tapered Tentacles
Bluish Mouth Ring: No
Source: LFS
 
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2nd looks like a typical Green PE that morphed a bit with nicer colors. I had those a long time before and never thought much for them and gave a bunch of those for free.
 

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i've been wanting to get some PE's.Now i"m going to for sure.Nice pictures.
 
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