Euphyllia Coral

I have a few of these Euphyllia species in my reef and understand they all have very similar care and requirments but like to know what I am actually growing. I understand the difference between A torch and a frogspawn but am very confused with the hammers. I see classifications of hammers as Euphyllia ancora and Euphyllia fimbriata and they seem to be used interchangably. Are they the same? Were the two species merged at some point into one where there is still a lto of old information posted online?

Also, is a Euphyllia with multiple tips on each tentacle automatically a frogspawn or are there species of hammers that share this trait as well? I know Torches are a single round tip at the end of each tentacle but I was sold a multicolored hammer that has multiple tips per tentacle. Some of them are round like on a frogspawn but some are elonged like a hammer.

 

It sounds like you have not discovered Corals of the World yet:
Corals of the World - Search for Photos, maps and information about corals and reefs

Euphyllia is a genus of related "species" (genus is one classification level up from species).

I don't see a listing for Euphyllia fimbriata. I suspect that scientists have reclassified that as another species and the hobby has not caught up with the terminology (happens often, as without getting down to the genetic level, corals can be tough to classify and genetic analyses are a recent development). Corals of the World will give you classifications, descriptions, references etc... for currently accepted species.

 

I will check into that site thank you very much. Euphyllia fimbriata is on animal-world.com species profile as a true hammer coral that does not occur in australiaand Euphyllia anchora as a seperate species that is often confused with Euphyllia fimbriata but it does occur in australia. I figured it might be old information

 

Am I right with my assumption

Also, is a Euphyllia with multiple tips on each tentacle automatically a frogspawn or are there species of hammers that share this trait as well? I know Torches are a single round tip at the end of each tentacle but I was sold a multicolored hammer that has multiple tips per tentacle. Some of them are round like on a frogspawn but some are elonged like a hammer. If there would be a species in existance I would say it was a cross between a hammer and frogspawn as it seems to have a lightly oblong tip on each tentacle with a couple smaller r ound tips to the sides of the main tip

 

I actually psoted awhile ago without a clear ID, I should get a closeup of the tentacles
http://www.3reef.com/forums/id/help-coral-id-141071.html

 

Okay, it looks like Euphyllia fimbriata was an old classification, and was latter split up into E.divisa and E.ancora, where in the hobby, E.divisa is considered a "frogspawn" and E.ancora is a "hammer coral". As to tips, see the red highlight.

Frogspanwn:

Euphyllia divisa

Characters: Colonies may be over one metre across. They are flabello-meandroid with exsert septa which plunge near the valley centre. Valley walls form sharp edges. There are no columellae. Polyps have large tubular tentacles with smaller tubular branches. All branches have knob-like tips
Colour: Translucent cream or green tentacles with pale tips.
Habitat: Large colonies are usually found in shallow, turbid environments and are commonly attached to vertical surfaces.
Abundance: Seldom common, but conspicuous.
Similar species: Euphyllia paradivisa

Euphyllia paradivisa
Characters: Skeletons are very similar to those of Euphyllia glabrescens. Polyps have branching tentacles almost identical to those of E. divisa.
Colour: Pale greenish-grey with lighter tentacle tips.
Habitat: Shallow reef environments protected from wave action.
Abundance: Uncommon.
Similar species: Euphyllia glabrescens , Euphyllia paraglabrescens

and then hammer coral is

Euphyllia ancora
Characters: Colonies may form a continuous cover over the substrate many metres across although individual colonies are seldom over one metre across. Colonies have the same skeletal structure as Euphyllia divisa. Polyps have large tubular tentacles with few or no branchlets but with anchor, hammer or T-shaped tips.
Colour: Blue-grey to orange, usually with pale cream or green outer borders to the tentacles.
Habitat: Large colonies are usually found in shallow environments exposed to moderate wave action.
Abundance: Seldom common, but may be a dominant species on protected horizontal substrates and on rocky outcrops in high latitude locations.
Similar species: Euphyllia paraancora

 

I guess I will go with it being some kind of multicolored branching hammer coral than even though it looks more like a frogspawn to me except the tips of the tentacle. Thanks for the help

 

It looks more like a frogspawn to me, as most of the tips seem more round (although, there are a few that appear more hammer shaped - no one said id's were strait-forward LOL). Do you have a lot of flow? Usually that is why they bunch up like that. If you turn off some pumps, it may open up more and may be easier to tell.

 

It actually did open up a lot more, its in a pretty low flow area. That picture was a couple days after purchasing the coral so it hadnt fully accliomated yet. It already split a couple heads and has a new baby head growing off the stalk. Like stated, new pictures are needed to help with ID lol

 

Pictures to help