Zoa Id Please

[dilbert]

Hi everybody!

Does someone know which species those zoas are?

The photo isn't the best but the disk has this brownish colour, the tentacles are very short, and the mouth is green.

 

[SkiFletch]

Sure they're not Palythoa?

 

[dilbert]

Ermm, far from sure of anything.


Just right now looked up properly the difference between the family Zoanthidae and the the order Zoanthidea. Where the probably confusing order Zoanthidea is now called Zoanthiniaria.

I meant with zoas the order Zoanthidea. There might be some confusion as it's an abbreviation only, so "zoa" can mean
- order Zoanthidea
- family Zoanthidae
- genus Zoanthus
??


I had again a look around on images on the Web. It could be well Palythoa or Zoanthus. Only I haven't found any image that matches as mine have a long fleshy stolon AND very short tentacles. The tentacles of mine look like as the polyps have been at the hair dresser.

 

[sandfire]

I have had a colony of identical 'Palythoa' on one of smaller my bits of live rock, I wondered what they were as they are spreading quite fast and I have noticed a new colony appearing on the rock next to them, what started as about 5 individuals about 6 weeks ago now cover a 2 inch sq patch.

Do yours look brown in bright light but the mouths go bight florescent green under actinic?
?

 

[sandfire]

I have had a colony of identical 'Palythoa' on one of smaller my bits of live rock, I wondered what they were as they are spreading quite fast and I have noticed a new colony appearing on the rock next to them, what started as about 5 individuals about 6 weeks ago now cover a 2 inch sq patch.

Do yours look brown in bright light but the mouths go bight florescent green under actinic?
?

I just found mine are these Colonial athecate hydroids.

http/www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-j...cnidarians.html

They are identical to the photo marked Colonial athecate hydroids (50G 2)

 

[dilbert]

No, mine have almost no tentacles. The tentacles look like a very small line around the brim of that disk.

I'll see to get some better pictures with an analogue Minolta Vectis.

I also don't have an actinic light but the stolon and disk could look fine with that as it is actually some brown colour with a touch of orange.

 

[Lynden]

Ermm, far from sure of anything.


Just right now looked up properly the difference between the family Zoanthidae and the the order Zoanthidea. Where the probably confusing order Zoanthidea is now called Zoanthiniaria.

I meant with zoas the order Zoanthidea. There might be some confusion as it's an abbreviation only, so "zoa" can mean
- order Zoanthidea
- family Zoanthidae
- genus Zoanthus
??

Had to nitpick this one, anemones and hard corals are both zoantharians but I don't hear people calling their acros "zoas".

Palythoas and zoanthids are differentiated by the lack of connective tissue in the former. If they are not connected (except when budding) they are palys.

 

[dilbert]

Had to nitpick this one, anemones and hard corals are both zoantharians but I don't hear people calling their acros "zoas".

Not nitpicking, fully obvious point.

Palythoas and zoanthids are differentiated by the lack of connective tissue in the former. If they are not connected (except when budding) they are palys.

I could find another photo. Below is a cutout from a photo from the day when I bought them.

Looks like Palythoas then? Any ideas what species from the descriptions from above?

 

[Musho3210]

http/www.farms-of-thesea.com/catalog/inc...html/seamat.pdf