Mental Hopscotch..The eternal confusion of "common" and "scientific" coral names...

First off, thanks for the wonderful, amazing, and positive response yesterday to the debut of "Corals for The Cure!" On behalf of myself and the many, many people who have been touched by cancer, your thoughts, prayers, and support of this program are greatly appreciated. We're just in the infancy of this program, so look for much much more as it evolves. Nonetheless. we were overwhelmed with the amazing response by the reef keeping community, and I thank you all personally from the bottom of my heart...

Okay, moving on for a new day and a new thought.

I haven't dished on coral names much, despite my predilection to do so...This is amazing...I must have been preoccupied So I got a bit contemplative, and thought through some stuff for you, so that you don't have to...I'm just that kind of guy, I suppose.


Regardless, I’m a bit confused…In the aquarium hobby and trade, we tend have our own vernacular and conventions.

Scientific names get interchanged with common and “trade” names, and we have a lot of confusion.

A lot. Someone better do something. Fast.

Confusion!

Case in point. At a club meeting I attended recently, I witnessed the following exchange between two reefers, discussing the identity of a soft coral. It went something like this: “That’s a Blue Xenia!”. Another hobbyist chimed in, “Nah, it’s a Cespitularia!” Still another chimed in and indicated that it was indeed Efflatounaria. Okay, identity crisis aside…I was confused. I thought the common name for Cespitularia is “Blue Xenia”! On the other hand, *people call certain stony corals of the genus Acropora “efflos”. But a coral of the genus Efflatounaria would be far better qualified to be called an “efflo”, right?


Cespitularia...but is it "ReefGen", "Vargas", or "ORA?" Oh, wait, they're all the same..Tony! Tooo-neeee!

Um..those crazy coral names and our love of identifiers rears its head again...Seat belts, please.

On the other hand, I love when we call Acropora solitariensis a “Soli”. not, in any way to be confused with Scolymia, a.ka.a the "Scoly."


What if your "Blue Xenia looks more teal than blue? Well, teal is a shade of blue, right? Is a “True Echinata” blue? Or does an "Ice Fire Echinata" have the same coloration as a Blue "Acan echinata? I think that I would prefer a “Pink Lemonade” Birdsnest over just a regular Pink one. Or even a “Pink Lemonade Nasuta”. I think. But a “Strawberry Lemonade Nasuta…or even the new "Shortcake Nasuta" from ORA...

On the other hand, thinking back a step..the “Hawkins Echinata” must be better than the “Ice Fire Echinata”, right? I mean, it’s more expensive! But it's some sort of Acropora echinata...Why does Acanthastrea echinata always seem to come up on the short end of the stick?

But what about the “Undata”?



But it's a "Jedi Mind Trick" undata, right? "You don't need to see its identification.."

Oh.. I mean, the “true” Undata, as opposed to the “fake” one, right? I've heard this one debated hotly before...What...? I supposed I'd only want the "true" one, too. Yup. THAT is a good buy, in my opinion. I fail to see what you'd want a "Mimic" Blenny over the real deal, right? OK, so one's a real mean fish, but still..It's REAL mean, as opposed to "mimic" mean...Oh, and we have the ORA captive bred Mimic Blenny in stock now, too!

Sales message...What?

I digress..

I'll never own a "War Coral", "True" or otherwise. It must be seriously allopathic! I'm sure that some coral should counteract the “War Coral”…unless some "Kryptonite Zoas" were present...In that case,you’d probably be better off if you had a “Lucky Charm” Acan to protect you. Would a “Meteor Shower” Cyphastrea defeat a “War Coral?” Could ANYTHING? How ironic that the species Favites pentagona, is named the "War Coral."



Then again, it's a "Tyree War Coral." That makes it even "more special-er."

OMG.

Thankfully, the “Watermelon Chalice” is not that tasty, or wouldn’t be, compared to a “Strawberry Shortcake”, at least not to a “True Percula” Clownfish…
Hey- would a True Percula Clownfish eat a “True Echinata”? Maybe a “False Percula” might nibble on a “True Echinata?”

Then what? Certain universe-altering paradoxes could ensue…This could be bad.


It could be the end of the world as we know it. Get those "True Percs" and head for the hills...

I think I’d have trouble wrapping my Brain (a Favia, Favites,Symphyllia or Trachyphllyia?- Definitely not a Wellsophyllia, ‘cause that genus is now Trachyphyllia…But that IS a "Brain Coral", nonetheless…) around *deciding which is better- an Acropora speciosa or a Favia speciosa?


"But, the "Wellso" doesn't exist anymore..It's a...a "Trachy." This is bad.[/FONT]


The mind boggles.

I’m outta here. Need caffeine.

Until next time…

Stay Wet.

Scott Fellman
Unique Corals

 

I’m outta here. Need caffeine.

Haha no you do not ^^^^

Man you just made my head spin.. I am just going to call everything a coral from now on period.

so who is on first anyways

 

I don't know...Oh, wait, I don't know is on second..?

 

Makes sense to me

 

Your threads are awesome man.

 

Thanks...you guys are a pleasure to have around!
-Scott

 

Love it! Just a couple quick questions,would the presence of kryptonite zoas zap the life out of superman monti and if so could it be saved by reverse superman?

 

Ohh..Huge problem...well thought out..!