@article{Vicario2026,
Title = {Phylogenomics reveals high black coral diversity in the Red Sea supporting the resurrection of the family Stichopathidae (Hexacorallia: Antipatharia)},
Author = {Vicario, Silvia and Terraneo, Tullia I. and Chimienti, Giovanni and Oury, Nicolas and Horowitz, Jeremy and Macrina, Laura and Barreca, Federica and Marchese, Fabio and Berumen, Michael L. and Duarte, Carlos M. and Eweida, Ameer A. and Pieribone, Vincent and Qurban, Mohammed and Westphal, Hildegard and Fauvelot, Cecile and Rodrigue, Mattie and Benzoni, Francesca},
Journal = {Megataxa},
Year = {2026},
Pages = {149-206},
Volume = {21},
Doi = {10.11646/megataxa.21.1.2},
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.},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Vicario, Silvia
AU - Terraneo, Tullia I.
AU - Chimienti, Giovanni
AU - Oury, Nicolas
AU - Horowitz, Jeremy
AU - Macrina, Laura
AU - Barreca, Federica
AU - Marchese, Fabio
AU - Berumen, Michael L.
AU - Duarte, Carlos M.
AU - Eweida, Ameer A.
AU - Pieribone, Vincent
AU - Qurban, Mohammed
AU - Westphal, Hildegard
AU - Fauvelot, Cecile
AU - Rodrigue, Mattie
AU - Benzoni, Francesca
TI - Phylogenomics reveals high black coral diversity in the Red Sea supporting the resurrection of the family Stichopathidae (Hexacorallia: Antipatharia)
T2 - Megataxa
PY - 2026
SP - 149-206
VL - 21
DO - 10.11646/megataxa.21.1.2
AB - 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.
ER -
