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Issue: Vol. 21 No. 1: 7 Aug. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-08-07
DOI: 10.11646/megataxa.21.1.2
Page range: 149-206
Abstract views: 790
PDF downloaded: 698

Phylogenomics reveals high black coral diversity in the Red Sea supporting the resurrection of the family Stichopathidae (Hexacorallia: Antipatharia)

Marine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Department of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Environment, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy
Marine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
Marine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Marine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Marine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Marine Conservation Program, NEOM, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Center of Carbonate Research, Department of Marine Geosciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, U.S.A.
OceanX 37W 39th St, New York, NY, U.S.A.
National Center for Wildlife Development, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, Germany, Department of Geosciences, Bremen University, Bremen, Germany
UMR ENTROPIE (UR-IRD-IFREMER-CNRS-UNC), Nouméa, 98800, New Caledonia, Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, LOV (Sorbonne Université, CNRS), 06230, Villefranche-sur-mer, France
OceanX 37W 39th St, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Marine Science Program, Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Anthozoa UCE Systematic revision Antipathidae

Abstract

Antipathidae Ehrenberg, 1834 is the largest family within the order Antipatharia (commonly known as black corals), and includes corals distributed worldwide from shallow to deep waters. With over 124 nominal species, Antipathidae comprises taxa with diverse morphologies, whose taxonomic boundaries, diversity, and distribution remain poorly resolved due to morphological convergence, limited sampling, and discordance between genetic and morphological evidence. Here, we integrated phylogenomic analyses from target-capture of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and exon loci with detailed morphological analyses for a total of 107 black coral specimens, including 70 collected from the Red Sea between 3 and 623 m water depth, 18 from the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Oceans between 3 and 26 m water depth, and 19 specimens from museum collections, five of which representing type material. Moreover, previously published UCE data from 77 specimens was included in the analysis. Our results supported the resurrection of the family Stichopathidae Roule, 1905 to accommodate the genera Cirrhipathes de Blainville, 1830 and Stichopathes Brook, 1889, formerly assigned to Antipathidae. We described three new genera, Multilobopathes gen. nov., Papillopathes gen. nov., and Opreskopathes gen. nov., to accommodate species previously assigned to Antipathes Pallas, 1766, including newly discovered taxa from the Red Sea. Antipathes lentipinna is reassigned to Multilobopathes lentipinna (Brook, 1889) comb. nov., Antipathes grandis to Papillopathes grandis (Verrill, 1928) comb. nov., Antipathes caribbeana, Antipathes umbratica, and Antipathes rubusiformis are reassigned to Opreskopathes caribbeana (Opresko, 1996), Opreskopathes umbratica (Opresko, 1996), and Opreskopathes rubusiformis (Warner & Opresko, 2004) comb. nov., respectively. Finally, four new species, Multilobopathes ornatus sp. nov., Multilobopathes intricatus sp. nov., Multilobopathes densispinosus sp. nov., and Stichopathes arenicola sp. nov., are described from the Red Sea. Our results provide the first step towards a comprehensive revision of the diversity and distribution of the order Antipatharia.

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