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| [A, B, F] Aphanipathes puertoricoensis Horowitz & Quattrini, [D, G] Anozopathes palauensis in Horowitz, Opresko, González-García & Quattrini, 2023 |
Abstract
Black corals (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) are an anthozoan lineage in the class Hexacorallia that occur across a wide range of habitats from the tropics to the poles and from surface waters to depths deeper than 8000 m. A new species of black coral, Aphanipathes puertoricoensis sp. nov., collected with a remotely operated vehicle 357 m deep off Puerto Rico is recognized in the family Aphanipathidae. The new species is characterized by very long and loosely coiled primary branches and up to 0.5 mm tall spines with as many as 40 or more small conical tubercles. A phylogeny composed of 13 taxa that are closely related to the new species was reconstructed from 793 nuclear loci to show their systematic relationships. Our study integrated morphological and genomic data to show that this new species is distinct from other species in the genus Aphanipathes. Furthermore, our results add to the growing knowledge of black coral diversity, while further demonstrating the need for exploration in deep waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Key words: Aphanipathes, molecular phylogenetics, morphology, targeted capture, taxonomy, ultraconserved elements
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| Comparison of species of Aphanipathes and Anozopathes: A Aphanipathes puertoricoensis sp. nov., yellow line indicates from where holotype fragment USNM 1660436 was collected B Aphanipathes puertoricoensis sp. nov. holotype collected fragment (USNM 1660436) C Aphanipathes pedata holotype (NHMUK 1843.2.6.105) D Anozopathes palauensis holotype (USNM 1007104) E Aphanipathes sarothamnoides part of holotype (NHMUK 1890.4.9.5) F polyps of Aphanipathes puertoricoensis sp. nov. holotype (USNM 1660436) G polyps of Anozopathes palauensis holotype (USNM 1007104). |
Family Aphanipathidae Opresko, 2004
Genus Aphanipathes Brook, 1889
Aphanipathes puertoricoensis Horowitz & Quattrini, sp. nov.
Type locality: Guayanilla Canyon, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea, 357 m depth.
Diagnosis: Tall, sparsely branched colony with two and rarely three orders of branches. Stem 0.2 m tall, first order branches over 1 m long, distally slightly curved or coiled, and arranged irregularly around stem; second order branches short and sparsely occurring; third order branches rare. Distal branch angles usually close to 90°. Spines form a distinct quincunx pattern with six axial rows of spines counted in one view. Polypar spines up to 0.5 mm tall, possess 20 to 40 or more small conical tubercles visible in lateral view that extend from the tip halfway to the base. Abpolypar spines up to 0.32 mm tall, possess 10 to 20 small conical tubercles visible in lateral view that extend from the tip halfway to the base. Polypar and abpolypar spines spaced 0.47 to 0.57 mm apart with three spines per mm in each row. Polyps 1.1 to 1.6 mm in diameter, arranged in a single series, with six to eight polyps per cm.
Jeremy Horowitz, Dennis M. Opresko, María del P. González-García and Andrea M. Quattrini. 2023. Description of A New Species of Black Coral in the Family Aphanipathidae (Anthozoa, Antipatharia) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys. 1173: 97-110. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1173.104141
