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Issue: Vol. 5787 No. 1: 2 Apr. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-02
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5787.1.3
Page range: 53-81
Abstract views: 36
PDF downloaded: 2

On the type specimens of Parazoanthus axinellae (Schmidt, 1862) (Hexacorallia: Zoanthidea) and its subspecies

Evolution of Marine Symbioses Laboratory; Department of Marine and Environmental Science; Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale; Florida; USA
Department of Biology; Faculty of Science University of Zagreb; Zagreb; Croatia
Musée Océanographique de Monaco; Monaco
Musée Océanographique de Monaco; Monaco
Department of CAPE; Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli; Naples; Italy
Centre of Natural History; Universalmuseum Joanneum; Graz; Austria
UMR7044 Archimède du CNRS; Musée Zoologique de Strasbourg; Strasbourg; France
Reef Ecology; Ecosystems & Functions Laboratory; Department of Marine and Environmental Science; Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale; Florida; USA; National Coral Reef Institute; Halmos College of Arts and Sciences; Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale; Florida; USA
Evolution of Marine Symbioses Laboratory; Department of Marine and Environmental Science; Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale; Florida; USA; National Coral Reef Institute; Halmos College of Arts and Sciences; Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale; Florida; USA
Department of CAPE; Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli; Naples; Italy
Evolution of Marine Symbioses Laboratory; Department of Marine and Environmental Science; Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale; Florida; USA; National Coral Reef Institute; Halmos College of Arts and Sciences; Nova Southeastern University; Fort Lauderdale; Florida; USA
Coelenterata anatomy natural history collections marginal muscle symbiosis taxonomy

Abstract

Subspecies of Parazoanthus axinellae have been largely ignored since their inception and modern authors write of morphotypes rather than attempting to assign their specimens to these existing taxa. This hesitation to apply subspecies names is rooted in taxon definitions written to 19th century standards coupled with failure to designate type specimens that could be reexamined for clarification. Revealing the types or verifying that they no longer exist so that topotypes may be designated as neotypes creates a path for clarification of existing taxonomic hypotheses and discovering which modern morphotypes or cryptic taxa lay outside those circumscriptions. Here we reconstructed the history and updated the diagnoses of the types of P. axinellae and its nominal subspecies by reviewing historic scientific and archival documents, verifying type existence with their current caretakers, and reexamining their microanatomy. We identified type specimens and designated lectotypes and paralectotypes from the syntype series of Parazoanthus axinellae and subspecies axinellae, liguricus, and muelleri, redescribed them from histology of their type material, and provide diagnostic traits for identification in the field or laboratory. Type material for brevitentacularis was not recovered and permission to resample the type location has been denied.

 

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How to Cite

Markovich, A., Bakran-Petricioli, T., Baltzinger, E., Bruni, M., Cenci, E., Gunczy, J., Meister, M., Ploner, M., Swain, A.K., Travaglini, A. & Swain, T.D. (2026) On the type specimens of Parazoanthus axinellae (Schmidt, 1862) (Hexacorallia: Zoanthidea) and its subspecies. Zootaxa, 5787 (1), 53–81. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5787.1.3