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Coral identification is not a trivial matter . Unlike fish or molluscs , the living coral lacks a uniform shape, shown always. Identification is mainly based on the shape of the polyp, that basically is minute or larger sea-anemone. Most of the corals breed asexually - and their offspring huddle together, remaining connected together, to a coral colony .Colony shape various among species and even the same species shows different colony shape under different conditions. Moreover at night coral polyps are usually very different from their daylight appearance .

Since most species - especially those called Stony corals - are forming a limestone skeleton, which is as variable as the living animal within. So, to identify them more has to be leaned about them. : Firstly the living polyp is embedded in the skelton or protruding and has a special name corallite . Two reproductive patterns are known in corals - sexual and asexual. The sexual code determines both the structure of the polyp and the corallite, and the the structure of the colony - some are branched , others out like a fan, and many others are ball shaped. Most stony corals colors are greenish yellow which is the color of the algae, minute plants that live inside the coral tissue and sharing a mutuablly beneficial symbiosis - and lend their color to the coral. During daylight the algae photosynthesize using sunlight and produce sugar (food) and turn carbon dioxide into oxygen (to breath) which the coral uses in its life. Few corals have also color pigments of different colors. These are mostly found in caves . Non stony corals - soft corals, grogonians, and other corals are radically different, and are of different forms, like whip or lash, fan shaped, shape of a mushroom etc. Many of these features related to their genetic structure , and as you'll be able to read here, the potential for hybridization between closely related species is high, and special shapes and features are common.

To help you in identification, the pictures shown above represent the main shapes and colorations of Aqaba - Eilat Gulf corals. Using these pictures you can navigate to the many coral species in our site, by clicking on the small pictures-links.
Another approach to the different coral forms identification in included in pages 1-11 forwards. They show alternative approaches. Finally, the added note attached to the list, namely