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Need help identifying this coral skeleton from the great barrier reef, australia

Need help identifying this coral skeleton from the great barrier reef, australia
Need help identifying this coral skeleton from the great barrier reef, australia

Hi everyone, I would appreciate some help identifying this coral skeleton.

This museum specimen comes from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The colony has a very dense bushy growth form, with many thin branches. The largest branches are around 2–5 mm in diameter.

The surface of the branches looks quite smooth. What I think are radial corallites are extremely small (<1 mm), and are irregularly arranged with different sizes.

At first I thought it might be an Acropora, but the lack of obvious axial corallites makes me unsure. It could also belong to another branching genus such as Anacropora, Montipora, or something else.

Any suggestions or diagnostic features to look for would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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Tagged with

#coral skeleton
#Great Barrier Reef
#Australia
#Acropora
#Anacropora
#radial corallites
#Montipora
#axial corallites
#branching
#growth form
#museum specimen
#marine biology
#branches
#diameter
#corallites
#genus
#smooth surface
#colony
#mm (millimeters)
#identification