How to use this guide:

          Identifications using this guide are based on a mix of traits of the sclerites as well as colony and branch morphology. The definitions terms and illustrations of the features can be found by searching the Glossary using the Search function on the banner at the top of the page.

          If the Family or Genus of the specimen is known, go directly to the “Select a Family” or “Select a Genus” button listed below. Only Caribbean families and genera are included.

          If you are uncertain of the family select “Dichotomous Key to the Octocoral Families”. The key includes all of the octocoral families including many that are not found in Caribbean reefal environments. Each page of the identification process contains a dichotomous choice and selecting one of the two descriptions advances you to the next choice. The history of your search is depicted in the bar above and you can return to an earlier selection by clicking on the line number.

          The entire key is listed below and you can also use that or proceed to a specific line using the “Jump to Line #” button.

          Once a Family has been selected you are moved to the key for the genera of that family. The procedure to identify the genus follows the same pattern as for families and the subsequent process to the species name follows the same pattern. When a species is selected a new tab is opened with the species description from the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) site. You can compare your specimen either by opening other species pages on the NSU site from the Species List page or by returning to the tab with the dichotomous key and exploring alternative choices in the key.