Question about black coral and octocorallia identification

Muhammad Danie Al Malik

@daniealmalik
| danie

I am highly committed to developing my career in the field of marine ecology, taking part in solving the challenges on biodiversity preservation in the Indonesian region

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Hi colleagues,

I am working on a project about black coral and octocorallia assessment. Do you have any information or references on how to differentiate them when they are dead or in a dry condition?

Thank you,

Chris Yesson

@CYesson

Zoological Society London (ZSL)

I am a benthic ecologist using low-cost tech to explore seabed habitats in temperate and cold water.

28 November 2024 6:31am

Hi Muhammad,

The best reference I know of covering shallow soft corals around Indonesia is Fabricius & Alderslade, its not a complete guide to everything you might see there, but the best thats currently available.

Note that you can only reliably ID octocorals from the sclerites and these need examination under a microscope, which require destructive sampling of a small amount of tissue, but these are intact in dried specimens.

Hope that helps