Confused about coral

[Beth929]

If this is a Tablate coral wouldn't it have "tabulae"?

 

Help, either I'm getting conflicting info or am losing my ability to read.

 

Is there an easy mnemonic device to tell the coral apart?
 

 

Edited May 19, 2017 by Beth929
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[BobWill]

In the case of corals the tabulae are the internal partitions inside of a cell which are horizontal. For comparison the vertical partitions or septae of rugose corals are absent or reduced in the tabulate corals. 

[doushantuo]

if you keep in mind that near vertical tabulae exist(the "clinotabulae" auctores)

Below:outtake from a Zapalski article

 

[Rockwood]

I think the reason you see no tabulae is that they are very thin and fragile. They often don't survive the fossilization process.  

[TqB]

I think I can see tabulae, albeit damaged, in the deeper parts of your specimen. And it's got nice mural pores which is typical of favositids.

 

Horizontal ridges in this bit for example:

 

Just about all tabulates have obvious tabulae (a notable exception being auloporidae where they may be absent).

 

Reduced or absent septa are typical of tabulates but there are exceptions where they're as long as any other coral.

 

Unfortunately, the major distinction between rugose, scleractinian and tabulate corals is the way the septa are inserted throughout ontogeny and that's generally not obvious without doing serial sections of a given corallite.

 

 

[Beth929]

Thanks so much all. Very helpful. Well be studying all this information.