Shortly after our story about the The Coral Library was posted, we were contacted and shown the Coral Hub, which is obviously another coral identification website. Despite similar goals, the Coral Hub differs from the previously discussed library in that isn’t just a library of pictures and random information about each species. Instead, it is a resource that tries to educate hobbyists and train them on how to properly identify corals by using workshops, self tests, coral morphology, educational photo slideshows, and even a blog to keep their community updated. There is so much useful information on the Coral Hub website that we were actually overwhelmed.
The portion of the site that covers actual coral identification isn’t entirely different from the Coral Library we previously discussed. Unfortunately though, the Coral Hub is still under construction in this area, so the species level is not currently available. However, you can click on the genus of each coral on the list and be taken to high resolution pictures of the corals, as well as vital statistics, distribution, identification tips, similar genera (along with detailed comparisons), ecological information, and taxonomic changes. Some of this information is obviously far more in depth than the average hobbyist would care for, but the Coral Hub is still an amazing collection of coral information.
We will continue to dig through the Coral Hub and try to uncover all of the nice features the site has to offer. We will also be doing a writeup on the Coral Finder, which is a plastic identification book that is designed to go underwater and help divers properly identify common species of corals.
