A simple molecular technique for distinguishing species reveals frequent misidentification of Hawaiian corals in the genus .

Species within the scleractinian genus Lamarck 1816 exhibit extreme phenotypic plasticity, making identification based on morphology difficult. However, the mitochondrial open reading frame (mtORF) marker provides a useful genetic tool for identification of most species in this genus, with a notable exception of and . Based on recent genomic work, we present a quick and simple, gel-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method for the identification of all six species occurring in Hawai'i by amplifying either the mtORF region, a newly discovered histone region, or both, and then using the restriction enzymes targeting diagnostic sequences we unambiguously identify each species Using this approach, we documented frequent misidentification of species based on colony morphology. We found that colonies are frequently mistakenly identified as in Kāne'ohe Bay, O'ahu. We also found that likely has a northern range limit in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, above which was regularly mistaken for .