Coral ID!!

[skeletoncowboy]

what kind of coral is the yellowish tan colored thing with the small polyps in the center of the pic? i got it for free and i dont know what it is. i think its some kind of encrusting coral?

 

[maxalmon]

looks like some type of Montipora sp

 

[trippkid]

Could be a Porites coral also. Do you have any monti's to compare the polyps? The Porites polyps are more flowered looking and slightly bigger than Montipora polyps in general. Looking at it more, I'd would say it is a Porites Sp.
Matt

 

[tangwhispr]

I could go either way, but side more with the porities

 

[maxalmon]

Guess I should have spent a little more time looking closer at the polyps, yellow color was also a giveaway,

 

[skeletoncowboy]

this might seem like a dumb question, but i always see people put down that "sp" at the end of montipora or in this case porites sp...what is "sp"?

 

[trippkid]

"sp." means it is not totally identified to me, I don't know what the official answer is, but I'm pretty sure it just means that the type of coral is known, just not the species, there you go. I think I hit the nail on the head with that definition.

Matt