Most Sinularia Finger Corals are now in the genus Sclerophytum

Sinularia has been a catch-all genus for many leather corals, from finger corals to cabbage corals. But thanks to the molecular taxonomic review by McFadden et al. in 2022 and the excellent Octocoral Finder by Russell Kelley, we can now see that many of the Sinularia on sale and in our tanks actually belong to the genus Sclerophytum. 

Both Sinularia and Sclerophytum have monomorphic polyps, whereas Sarcophyton has dimorphic polyps, but despite this feature, the former Sinularia species not only changed genus, but also changed family too, now sitting within Sarcophytidae, the Toadstools. 

So our finger corals are now more closely related to Toadstool corals than they are to Cabbage corals. 

Not all digitate leather corals have left their genera, though. Cladiella, Klyxum, Lemnalia, Litophyton, Lobophytum, Paraphernalia, and even one or two Sinularia still remain. 

But those popular finger corals that we knew and loved as Sinularia are now firmly within Sclerophytum. 

Their collection, conservation status, and availability remain unaffected.