Latest Articles from ZooKeys Latest 2 Articles from ZooKeys https://zookeys.pensoft.net/ Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:28:23 +0200 Pensoft FeedCreator https://zookeys.pensoft.net/i/logo.jpg Latest Articles from ZooKeys https://zookeys.pensoft.net/ Complete mitochondrial genomes of the black corals Alternatipathes mirabilis Opresko & Molodtsova, 2021 and Parantipathes larix (Esper, 1788) (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Hexacorallia, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/116837/ ZooKeys 1196: 79-93

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.116837

Authors: Brendan A. Cruz, Anneau Cappelmann, Hope Chutjian, Jude C. Roman, Mason A. Reid, Jacob Wright, Aydanni D. Gonzalez, Taylor Keyman, Kierstin M. Griffith, Hannah J. Appiah-Madson, Daniel L. Distel, Vonda E. Hayes, Jim Drewery, D. Tye Pettay, Joseph L. Staton, Mercer R. Brugler

Abstract: We describe the complete mitogenomes of the black corals Alternatipathes mirabilis Opresko & Molodtsova, 2021 and Parantipathes larix (Esper, 1790) (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Hexacorallia, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae). The analysed specimens include the holotype of Alternatipathes mirabilis, collected from Derickson Seamount (North Pacific Ocean; Gulf of Alaska) at 4,685 m depth and a potential topotype of Parantipathes larix, collected from Secca dei Candelieri (Mediterranean Sea; Tyrrhenian Sea; Salerno Gulf; Italy) at 131 m depth. We also assemble, annotate and make available nine additional black coral mitogenomes that were included in a recent phylogeny (Quattrini et al. 2023b), but not made easily accessible on GenBank. This is the first study to present and compare two mitogenomes from the same species of black coral (Stauropathes arctica (Lütken, 1871)) and, thus, place minimum boundaries on the expected level of intraspecific variation at the mitogenome level. We also compare interspecific variation at the mitogenome-level across five different specimens of Parantipathes Brook, 1889 (representing at least two different species) from the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

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Research Article Fri, 22 Mar 2024 19:23:09 +0200
A new species of Bathypathes (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from the Red Sea and its phylogenetic position https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/79846/ ZooKeys 1116: 1-22

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1116.79846

Authors: Giovanni Chimienti, Tullia Isotta Terraneo, Silvia Vicario, Fabio Marchese, Sam J. Purkis, Ameer Abdulla Eweida, Mattie Rodrigue, Francesca Benzoni

Abstract: A black coral, Bathypathes thermophila Chimienti, sp. nov. is described from the Saudi Arabian coasts of the Gulf of Aqaba and north Red Sea (Neom area) using an integrated taxonomic approach. The morphological distinctiveness of the new species is confirmed by molecular analyses. The species thrives in warm and high salinity waters typical of the Red Sea at bathyal depths. It can form colony aggregations on muddy bottoms with scattered, small hard substrates. Colonies are monopodial, feather-like, and attached to a hard substrate through a thorny basal plate. Pinnules are simple, arranged biserially and alternately, and all the same length (up to approximately 20 cm) except for few, proximal ones. Spines are triangular, laterally compressed, subequal, smooth, and simple or rarely bifurcated. Polyps are elongated transversely, 1.5–2.0 mm in transverse diameter. Large colonies can have one or few branches, whose origin is discussed. The phylogenetic position of B. thermophila sp. nov. within the order Antipatharia, recovered using three mitochondrial markers, shows that it is nested within the family Schizopathidae. It is close to species in the genera Parantipathes, Lillipathes, Alternatipathes, and Umbellapathes rather than to the other available representatives of the genus Bathypathes, as currently defined based on morphology. In agreement with previous findings, our results question the evolutionary significance of morphological characters traditionally used to discriminate Antipatharia at higher taxonomic level.

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Research Article Thu, 4 Aug 2022 15:43:23 +0300