Coral Finder 2022

By Russell Kelley

The completely revised & up-to-date 5th edition of the book that took the mystery out of coral ID is now available. The Indo Pacific Coral Finder delivers easy genus level coral ID anywhere between the Red Sea and Easter Island.

Over 1730 images & expanded genus coverage
Updated to reflect molecular taxonomy as of March 2022
Includes bibliography to molecular literature
Twice the visual coverage (80 pages) of Coral Finder 3.0
Not for underwater use!

CORAL FINDER FAQ
WHAT IS IT?
The world’s first easy-to-use, searchable smartguide for coral ID that anyone can use.

WHAT DOES IT DO
Lets the untrained user identify corals to genus level, regardless of growth form, in the Indian & Pacific oceans. Coral Finder’s visually driven design eliminates most of the ugly terminology from the coral ID process.

HOW DOES IT WORK
Choose the shape, texture or lifestyle of your coral from the Key Page, follow the prompts & select a Look-Alike page of “best bets” for what your coral might be. Use your visual supercomputer (eyes) to pattern search the grid of images, confirm the key characters and true scale.

WHO IS IT FOR?
Everyone! – divers, aquarists, dive instructors, dive boats and businesses, snorkelers, reef walkers, students, naturalists, scientists, coral industry professionals.

WHY SHOULD I BUY IT?
Because it works ;-). The Coral Finder is the only coral ID tool that is: (a) up-to-date with molecular taxonomy, (b) easy to use, &, (c) a useful introduction to species ID.

"Clearly the best guide out there for understanding how to identify corals in the field. Teaches the process, allowing identification to different taxonomic levels and can adapt to taxonomic changes in future."

Thomas Bridge, Senior Curator – Corals, Queensland Museum

DESIGN
The Look-alike page
The Coral Finder creates a choice matrix for easy, at-a-glance decision making. Just scan the page and “see” the answer!

CORAL FINDER FEATURES
How it works

The answer to the question “What coral is that?” is in your head – literally. Your eyes and brain are the world’s most powerful supercomputer capable of solving complex visual problems instantly. Traditional field guides put text between you and the answer – and text needs to be interpreted. The Coral Finder reduces the problem of identifying corals to a series of simple visual choices. Read on… it’s as simple as 1,2,3!!

GLOSSARY
The Coral Finder takes the confusion out of learning coral identification with a simplified glossary of terms. Culled from the hundreds in use by professional taxonomists the Coral Finder only tells what you need to know to get the job done.

Reverse engineering

The Coral Finder is designed to solve problems. Say you have a coral that doesn’t quite fit what you see on your chosen Look-Alike page. Crisis? What crisis? Just reverse engineer the problem using the genus index to track down your coral among the Coral Finder’s other growth forms.

EXQUISITE 2-SHOTS
Nothing shows the difference between two similar corals better than perfect side-by-side field photos. The Coral Finder includes exquisite two-shots that take the guess work out of separating problem groups of corals.