SPS coral ID please...

[Sahin]

Hello, can anyone ID this coral frag for me please.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Chucker]

Well, I've posted this viewpoint in response to others who ask how people ID SPS corals, and haven't seen a reason to change it yet, so here goes.....

Pure and simple, they don't. All they can do is say it looks like Corallus tinypolypii, but there is no guarantee.

IMHO, the problem is two-fold. It's human nature that things must be classified, and fit into a little hole for organizational purposes. Secondly, quite a few people collect rare sps, as they would stamps or baseball cards. If you can't hang a name on it, you can't figure out what you have, and what you still need. No name also equals no bragging rights

MiNdErAsR's FAQ on RC says it rather nicely-

I have a picture; can you identify this Acropora?
In a word, no. Comparing the coral to pictures found in books, is not an accurate method of identification. You may come close, but it would be guess work at best. Too many species are strikingly similar. Many things affect growth formation and coloration (such as lighting, water motion, placement, etc.). Coral in a natural environment will have different growth patterns and coloration then the same coral grown in an aquarium. Also small frags would not display as many natural characteristics as a more mature colony would. One would have to cut a fragment, kill and remove the tissue, and examine the skeletal structure for proper identification at the species level.