Stumped! Soft coral? ID - Jan 22, 2020 Maldives Reef photo

[dankaqua]

Was shocked to see a very different type of soft coral in 2 feet of water on the fore-reef (Rasdhoo Island, Maldives) the other day.

This area is very shallow with high temps and a fair amount of turbidity (suspended sand particles if the waves are slamming).

The coral is very stiff (wave action barely budged it) and it has iridescent green "stalks" (not visible).

This is the only coral of this kind that I have seen in the Maldives, and it's in an area which is predominantly sand and coral rubble (very few corals growing in the area - some very hardy Porites is evident nearby, but in slightly deeper (3 feet) of water.

 

[Ron Reefman]

bump

good luck

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Possibly a pipe organ of some sort?

 

[dankaqua]

Possibly a pipe organ of some sort?

I've seen Tubipora musica (pipe organ coral) in the wild before. The polyps are quite small, and the stony base of the coral is quite evident.

The above mystery coral did not have any visible skeleton (the base was more like a leather coral).

 

[MohrReefs]

If it doesn't have a name yet I vote Cauliflower Coral.

 

[BranchingHammer]

The tentacles look exactly like a sebae anemone. I wonder if it's one of those bunched up? It does look like it branches to a degree though...

 

[MohrReefs]

The tentacles look exactly like a sebae anemone. I wonder if it's one of those bunched up? It does look like it branches to a degree though...

I was wondering if it was a nem too. But I think they said it was stiff.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

Vargas Cespitularia? There’s a guy near me selling a frag and the retracted polyps look like that.

 

[dankaqua]

I did a google image search for "Vargas Cespitularia" and although it does seem to have some of the qualities of the above mystery coral, reading Jake Adam's description :

"this large bodied Xeniid has long fleshy stalks topped by large feathery polyps"

...the "long fleshy stalks" seems to apply, but the "large feathery polyps" does not.

Vargas Cespitularia is a sensational purple and yellow Xeniid from ORA | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

The Vargas Cespitularia is an exciting new soft released by ORA which has a long and storied history. Originally discovered in the Indo-Pacific, this large bodied Xeniid has long fleshy stalks topped…

reefbuilders.com

 

[dankaqua]

Posting the only other pic I have of this coral (still assuming it is a coral).

Below is a closeup of the green stalk from the center-left part of the image

The iridescent nature of that stalk doesn't come out in the photo, but it was evident in person.

I'm going to try to relocate that coral and take some more pics.... (wish me luck!)

 

[ScottR]

This is interesting as there are no visible polyps which makes it not seem much like a soft coral. It almost reminds me of an elegance but the branching tentacles doesn’t match what an elegance looks like. Following but seems will be a tough ID.

 

[BranchingHammer]

I looked up "branching anemone" lol, and I found this:

Actinodendron glomeratum, which is found in the indo-pacific. It looks similar to a degree except it needs higher density of tentacles.

Then I found a pretty exact match of a photo, but there was no ID listed. It came up when I searched for "Hell's fire Anemone," the common name of Actinodendron glomeratum.

Then I found another image that was from an article called "Snorkeling in the Maldives":
In this article it is also listed as a Hell's fire anemone.

There is also a link to a video of a Hell's fire anemone eating a fish:

Redirect Notice

SO, I think I found it?

 

[BranchingHammer]

I also think I found the specific species: Actinodendron arboreum.
I think that it's an exact match. If you look up that species, you will find pictures that match yours. That is an extremely cool-looking anemone though. I would love to see this in person!

 

[ScottR]

I looked up "branching anemone" lol, and I found this:

Actinodendron glomeratum, which is found in the indo-pacific. It looks similar to a degree except it needs higher density of tentacles.

Then I found a pretty exact match of a photo, but there was no ID listed. It came up when I searched for "Hell's fire Anemone," the common name of Actinodendron glomeratum.

Then I found another image that was from an article called "Snorkeling in the Maldives":
In this article it is also listed as a Hell's fire anemone.

There is also a link to a video of a Hell's fire anemone eating a fish:

Redirect Notice

SO, I think I found it?

Looks quite close. Would be nice to see a pic of the mouth from the OP if he can get back to it. If we can see a mouth, it’d be easy to call it.

 

[BranchingHammer]

Agreed that the mouth would be a good indicator, Actinodendron arboreum looks pretty close though.

 

[ReeferWarrant]

With a possibility of it being a "Hells Fire Anemone" I would not be eager to get close to it to find out if it had a mouth haha

 

[BranchingHammer]

Haha, yeah agreed, they say that the Hell's fire anemone can cause skin ulcers when it stings!

 

[MohrReefs]

Do a taste test, for science.

 

[namfuak]

Agreed that the mouth would be a good indicator, Actinodendron arboreum looks pretty close though.

Good find! This image of Actinodendron arboreum looks extremely close.

 

[BranchingHammer]

Wow, that video is cool!!