A new family of diminutive zooxanthellate zoanthids (Hexacorallia: Zoantharia)
Fujii, T.; Reimer, J.D. (2013). A new family of diminutive zooxanthellate zoanthids (Hexacorallia: Zoantharia). Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 169(3): 509–522. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12075
In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Academic Press: London. ISSN 0024-4082; e-ISSN 1096-3642, more
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| Keywords |
Biogeny > Phylogeny
Classification > Taxonomy
Phylogenetics
Marine/Coastal; Fresh water |
| Author keywords |
16S; COI genetics; mtDNA; New classification |
| Abstract |
A new family, genus, and species of zooxanthellate macrocnemic zoanthid is described from Okinawa, Japan. The diminutive zoanthid Nanozoanthus harenaceus sp. nov. occurs in sandy ‘pools’ upon hard substrates in coral reefs. The results of molecular phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial 16S ribosomal DNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I suggests that Nanozoanthidae fam. nov. is genetically close to family Microzoanthidae and Isozoanthus sulcatus at the intrafamily–suborder level. The Nanozoanthidae fam. nov.–Microzoanthidae clade is clearly highly divergent from all other known zoanthid families and from the order Actiniaria at the suborder level or higher. These results demonstrate that much high-level (e.g. above genus) diversity remains to be described within the order Zoantharia, and until such work is complete it will be difficult to completely understand their biodiversity. |
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