Morphological and molecular characterization of five species including three new species of golden gorgonians (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) from seamounts in the Western Pacific
Xu, Y.; Zhan, Z.; Xu, K. (2021). Morphological and molecular characterization of five species including three new species of golden gorgonians (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) from seamounts in the Western Pacific. Biology-Basel 10(7): 588. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biology10070588
In: Biology-Basel. MDPI AG: Basel. e-ISSN 2079-7737, meer
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| Trefwoorden |
Anthozoa [WoRMS]; Chrysogorgiidae Verrill, 1883 [WoRMS]; Iridogorgia densispiralis Xu, Zhan & Xu, 2021 [WoRMS]; Iridogorgia flexilis Xu, Zhan & Xu, 2021 [WoRMS]; Iridogorgia verrucosa Xu, Zhan & Xu, 2021 [WoRMS]
Marien/Kust |
| Author keywords |
Anthozoa; Chrysogorgiidae; Iridogorgia flexilis; Iridogorgia verrucosa; Iridogorgia densispiralis; taxonomy; morphology; phylogeny |
| Auteurs | | Top |
- Xu, Y., meer
- Zhan, Z.
- Xu, K.
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| Abstract |
Deep-water octocorals are main components of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) and play an important role in conservation and research. Iridogorgia Verill, 1883 is a distinct octocoral group characterized by a remarkably spiral structure and large size in deep sea, where the diversity of Iridogorgia is poorly known in the Western Pacific. Based on the collection of Iridogorgia specimens from seamounts in the tropical Western Pacific, we described five species including three new species using an integrated morphological-molecular approach. We assessed the potential of the mitochondrial genes MutS and COI, and the nuclear 28S rDNA for species delimitation and phylogenetic reconstruction of Iridogorgia. The results suggest that the mitochondrial markers are not able to resolve the species boundaries and deeply divergent relationships adequately, while 28S rDNA showed potential application in DNA barcoding and phylogenetic reconstruction for this genus. This study will help to understand the Iridogorgia biodiversity in the Western Pacific and shed more light on the screening of barcodes for octocorals. |
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