Establishment of a neotype for Antipathes flabellum Pallas, 1766 (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Antipatharia).

A neotype is designated for the antipatharian coral Antipathes flabellum Pallas, 1766. The neotype was collected off Madagascar (the original type locality is given as the Oceanus Indicus). Morphologically, the neotype corresponds closely in corallum shape and skeletal spination to specimens that have traditionally been identified as Antipathes flabellum. Another specimen of A. flabellum from Madagascar, morphologically almost identical to the neotype and described here, has been sequenced using ultra conserved elements and exon nuclear loci, which showed that it falls within the family currently recognized as Antipathidae.

Two New Cembranoids from the Chinese Soft Coral Sarcophyton boettgeri.

Two new cembranoids, namely sarcoboettgerols D and E, together with four known related ones, have been isolated from the soft coral Sarcophyton boettgeri collected from Weizhou Island in the South China Sea. Their structures including absolute configurations were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis, quantum mechanical nuclear magnetic resonance methods, time-dependent density functional theory-electronic circular dichroism calculations, as well as comparison with the reported data in the literature. A plausible biogenetic relationship of four cembranoids was proposed. In bioassays, sarcomililatin B exhibited cytotoxic activity against H1299 cell (IC50 =35.0 µM), whereas sarcomililatin B and sarcomililatin A displayed moderate antibacterial activities (MIC 17.4-34.8 µg/mL).

Dimorphic life cycle through transverse division in burrowing hard coral Deltocyathoides orientalis.

The azooxanthellate solitary scleractinian Deltocyathoides orientalis (family Turbinoliidae), which has bowl-shaped costate corallites, exhibits burrowing behavior on soft substrates and can adapt to an infaunal mode of life. Here, we describe previously unknown aspects of their life history and asexual mode of reproduction based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses. The findings reveal that (1) D. orientalis exhibits asexual reproduction by transverse division; (2) smaller bowl-shaped costate anthocyathus derived from cylindrical to tympanoid anthocaulus were attached to hard substrates, including shell fragments and gravels on soft substrates; and (3) anthocyathus only reproduce sexually after division, and anthocaulus was found to regrow and repeatedly produce anthocyathi through transverse division. The bowl-shaped corallum morphology of the anthocyathus just after division might reduce the time required for skeletal formation to enable infaunal adaption after transverse division. Immediately after division, D. orientalis can smoothly shift to a burrowing lifestyle that efficiently utilizes soft-substrate environments, thus increasing its survival rate. The morphological formation of prospective anthocyathus in the anthocaulus stage is consequently thought to involve an increase in clonal individuals as well as adaptations for a burrowing free-living mode of life in the anthocyathus stage.

Coral micro- and macro-morphological skeletal properties in response to life-long acclimatization at CO2 vents in Papua New Guinea.

This study investigates the effects of long-term exposure to OA on skeletal parameters of four tropical zooxanthellate corals naturally living at CO2 seeps and adjacent control sites from two locations (Dobu and Upa Upasina) in the Papua New Guinea underwater volcanic vent system. The seeps are characterized by seawater pH values ranging from 8.0 to about 7.7. The skeletal porosity of Galaxea fascicularis, Acropora millepora, massive Porites, and Pocillopora damicornis was higher (up to ~ 40%, depending on the species) at the seep sites compared to the control sites. Pocillopora damicornis also showed a decrease of micro-density (up to ~ 7%). Thus, further investigations conducted on this species showed an increase of the volume fraction of the larger pores (up to ~ 7%), a decrease of the intraskeletal organic matrix content (up to ~ 15%), and an increase of the intraskeletal water content (up to ~ 59%) at the seep sites. The organic matrix related strain and crystallite size did not vary between seep and control sites. This multi-species study showed a common phenotypic response among different zooxanthellate corals subjected to the same environmental pressures, leading to the development of a more porous skeletal phenotype under OA.

A New Species of Sea Whip Gorgonian-Associated Zoantharian (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Parazoanthidae) from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, with Subgeneric Subdivision of Genus Umimayanthus.

Symbioses between invertebrates are common in the ocean although usually the diversity and specificity of their interactions are not well understood. Parazoanthidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Zoantharia) is one of the most diverse zoantharian families in terms of numbers of genera and species. Species in this family are commonly associated with various other invertebrates that they utilize as their substrate. Previous studies have re-organized the taxonomy of Parazoanthidae and revealed a strong specificity between many parazoanthid species and genera and their substrates. However, our understanding of the species diversity of Parazoanthidae is far from complete, as parazoanthids are often overlooked in sampling surveys. In this study, we establish three subgenera under the genus Umimayanthus Montenegro, Sinniger, and Reimer, 2015; the nominotypical Umimayanthus, Paraumimayanthus subgen nov., and Gorgoniazoanthus subgen. nov., based on the finding of a new species, Umimayanthus (Gorgoniazoanthus) kanabou sp. nov., associated with the sea-whip gorgonian Ellisella sp. from approximately 30 m depth in shallow mesophotic coral reef communities in Oura Bay on Okinawajima Island and in Oshima Strait near Amami-Oshima Island, in the Ryukyu Islands, southern Japan. We additionally report on gastropods and crustaceans observed in association with U. kanabou, and these species are thought to potentially prey upon the zoantharians or on gorgonian polyps. Umimayanthus kanabou is phylogenetically closely related to congeneric sponge-associated Umimayanthus spp., further supporting the recent hypothesis that substrate preferences may change during the evolutionary history of zoantharians.

Early development and coloniality in Oligophylloides from the Devonian of Morocco-Are Heterocorallia Palaeozoic octocorals?

Heterocorals represent an enigmatic group of Palaeozoic corals, known from relatively short time intervals in the Devonian and Carboniferous periods. The major differences between Heterocorallia and other Palaeozoic corals are the lack of an external theca (epitheca), lack of calices and the presence of dichotomously dividing septa-like structures. Heterocoral skeleton was presumably externally covered by the soft tissue and each branch of their skeleton has, until now, been regarded as a corallite-a skeleton of a single polyp. We investigated upper Famennian Oligophylloides from Morocco, focussing on branching processes, wall structure, previously poorly known initial growth stages and the growing tip, described here for the first time. We demonstrate that Oligophylloides shows a unique colony development not known in any group of anthozoans possessing a septate-like architecture and suggest that the previously postulated homology between true septa in hexa- and rugose corals on one hand, and Oligophylloides on the other, must be rejected. Based on the skeleton structure and branching patterns, we postulate, contrary to former ideas, that the stem and branches of heterocorals represent the skeleton of a multi-polyp colonial coral, similar to many extant octocorals. We found numerous potential homologies with octocoral skeletons (notably the Keratoisidinae within the Isididae) and, as a result, we propose the inclusion of the order Heterocorallia within the subclass Octocorallia. This suggestion requires, however, further research on the other taxa of heterocorals. We also propose some changes to the morphological terminology for the Heterocorallia.

Selection of mesophotic habitats by Oculina patagonica in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea following global warming.

Globally, species are migrating in an attempt to track optimal isotherms as climate change increasingly warms existing habitats. Stony corals are severely threatened by anthropogenic warming, which has resulted in repeated mass bleaching and mortality events. Since corals are sessile as adults and with a relatively old age of sexual maturity, they are slow to latitudinally migrate, but corals may also migrate vertically to deeper, cooler reefs. Herein we describe vertical migration of the Mediterranean coral Oculina patagonica from less than 10 m depth to > 30 m. We suggest that this range shift is a response to rapidly warming sea surface temperatures on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline. In contrast to the vast latitudinal distance required to track temperature change, this species has migrated deeper where summer water temperatures are up to 2 °C cooler. Comparisons of physiology, morphology, trophic position, symbiont type, and photochemistry between deep and shallow conspecifics revealed only a few depth-specific differences. At this study site, shallow colonies typically inhabit low light environments (caves, crevices) and have a facultative relationship with photosymbionts. We suggest that this existing phenotype aided colonization of the mesophotic zone. This observation highlights the potential for other marine species to vertically migrate.

Description of two new genera and two new species of antipatharian corals in the family Aphanipathidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia).

Two new genera and two new species of black corals are recognized in the family Aphanipathidae. The new genus Anozopathes, with the species A. hawaiiensis sp. nov. and A. palauensis, sp. nov. is characterized by a sparsely and irregularly branched corallum with relatively long branches which can be straight, curved or crooked. The genus Aphanostichopathes, with the type species Cirripathes paucispina Brook, is characterized by an unbranched corallum with a long, curved stem with loose distal coils. Mitochondrial DNA data (nad5-IGR-nad1 for Anozopathes and cox3-cox1 for Aphanostichopathes) indicate that both taxa are related to the genera Aphanipathes, Phanopathes and Acanthopathes in the family Aphanipathidae, and morphologically they both share the characteristic of having spines with distinct conical tubercles. The two new species of Anozopathes are separated primarily by differences in colony growth form and in the size and shape of the skeletal spines. Species of Aphanostichopathes are separated primarily by differences in the size and shape of the spines and by size and density of the tubercles on the surface of the spines.

Revisiting the type of Cespitularia stolonifera/ Gohar, 1938 leads to the description of a new genus and a species of the family Xeniidae (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea).

Because of the problematical identity and status of the type of the xeniid soft coral genus Cespitularia Milne-Edwards Haime, 1850, the species C. stolonifera Gohar, 1938 is revised. Examination of the type colonies has led to the establishment of the new genus Unomia gen. n. which is described and depicted. This genus features a stalk, commonly divided into branches featuring a diffuse polypiferous part consisting of distal clustered polyps and proximal individual ones on the stalk or the basal membranous part of the colonies. The sclerites are ellipsoid platelets composed of dendritic calcite rods whose tips are distinct on the surface of the platelets. Freshly collected material from Venezuelan reefs where the species is invasive was subjected to molecular phylogenetic analysis, the results of which substantiate the taxonomic assignment of the new genus under U. stolonifera comb. n. A new species, U. complanatis, from Japan and Green Island (Taiwan) is described and further illustrates the extent of the interspecific morphological variation within the genus. The results reveal that the biogeographic distribution of Unomia gen. n. includes Pacific Ocean reefs in addition to the previously reported invaded Caribbean reefs.

Upper Barremian-lower Aptian scleractinian corals of central Europe (Schrattenkalk Fm., Helvetic Zone, Austria, Germany, Switzerland).

From the Schrattenkalk Formation (upper Barremian-lower Aptian) of southern Germany, western Austria, and Switzerland, new coral material is taxonomically described, belonging to 56 species from 35 genera of 21 families: Actinastrea pseudominima (Koby); A. subornata (d'Orbigny); Paretallonia bendukidzeae Sikharulidze; Eugyra (Felixigyra) crassa (de Fromentel) (new combination); E. (F.) patruliusi (Morycowa); E. (F.) picteti (Koby) (new combination); E. rariseptata Morycowa; Myriophyllia propria Sikharulidze; Thecosmilia dichotoma Koby; Clausastrea plana (de Fromentel); Complexastrea cf. lobata Geyer; Paraclausastrea chevalieri Zlatarski; P. kaufmanni (Koby); P. vorarlbergensis Baron-Szabo; ?Montlivaltia sp.; Diplogyra subplanotabulata Sikharulidze; Hydnophora styriaca (Michelin); Dermosmilia fiagdonensis Starostina Krasnov; D. cf. laxata (Étallon); D. trichotoma Eguchi; D. tuapensis Baron-Szabo Gonzalez.-León; Placophyllia grata Bugrova; Cairnsipsammia merbeleri Baron-Szabo; Morphastrea ludovici (Michelin) (emended herein); Ahrdorffia ornata (Morycowa); Astraeofungia tirnovoriana (Toula) (new combination); Actinaraea (Camptodocis) brancai (Dietrich); A. tenuis Morycowa; Rhipidomeandra bugrovae Morycowa Masse; Comoseris aptiensis Baron-Szabo; Comoseris jireceki Toula; Polyphylloseris mammillata Eguchi; Ellipsocoenia barottei (de Fromentel) (new combination); Ellipsocoenia haimei (de Fromentel) (new combination); Dimorphastrea tenustriata de Fromentel; Latomeandra cf. plicata (Goldfuss); Microphyllia gemina Eliásová; Thalamocaeniopsis stricta (Milne Edwards Haime)(new combination); Trigerastraea haldonensis (Duncan) (new combination); Heliocoenia rozkowskae Morycowa; H. vadosa (Pocta); Stylosmilia corallina Koby; Cyathophora decipiens ramosa (Hackemesser) (new combination); C. mirtschinkae Kuzmicheva; Cladophyllia clemencia de Fromentel; C. conybearei Milne Edwards Haime; C. crenata (Blanckenhorn); C. furcifera Roemer; C. rollieri (Koby); C. stutzi (Koby) (new combination); Amphiaulastrea conferta (Ogilvie); A. rarauensis (Morycowa); Heterocoenia inflexa (Eichwald); H. minima d'Orbigny; Acanthogyra aptiana Turnsek; as well as the new species Columnocoenia falkenbergensis. In addition, all the information about previously described taxa from the Schrattenkalk was evaluated with regard to their taxonomic assignment, stratigraphic and paleogeographic distribution, and paleoenvironmental relationships to faunas from other geographic areas and time periods. A total of 122 species belonging to 53 genera and 24 families are recognized from Schrattenkalk localities (western Austria, southern Germany, Switzerland). These include the taxa of both the Lower and Upper Schrattenkalk, and the intercalated Rawil Member. The Schrattenkalk coral fauna nearly exclusively consists of colonial forms of three general categories of polyp integration: cerioid-plocoid (33.6%); branching (18%); and (hydno-) meandroid-thamnasterioid (46.7%). Only two specimens were doubtfully assigned to solitary taxa. Corallite diameters range from less than 1 mm to over 20 mm and fall into three major corallite-size groups: small (up to 2.4 mm), medium (2.4-9.5 mm), and large (9.5 mm). The fauna is distinctly dominated by forms with medium-size corallites (68%), followed by forms having small-size corallites (26%). Together with the potential solitary taxa, corals with large-size corallites are of minimal importance to the total fauna. On the genus-level, the Schrattenkalk corals show closest affinities to coral assemblages of central (especially France; 55%), eastern and southern Europe (44‒49%), as well as Central America (47%). On the species-level, closest affinities are to coral assemblages of central, southeastern, and eastern Europe (16‒25.5%), as well as Central America (14%), but nearly a third of the Schrattenkalk species (30%) was restricted to the upper Barremian-lower Aptian of the Schrattenkalk Formation; this suggests that the Schrattenkalk platform sensu lato was a diversity center and a crucial reservoir for coral recruitment. The majority (86%) of the Schrattenkalk corals thrived in a shallow-water, reefal to perireefal, subtropical marine environment. In general, the Schrattenkalk coral assemblages are characteristic of moderate- to high-energy environments of the inner shelf to shore zone, having morphotype associations that typically prevail down to 10-15 m depth. In contrast, for the Upper Schrattenkalk coral fauna of central Switzerland (Hergiswil), a non-reefal paleoenvironment at a depth of several tens of meters is suggested by the morphotypes of the taxa and types of microfacies present. The corals of the Schrattenkalk Formation occurred in both photozoan (Lower and Upper Schrattenkalk members) and heterozoan (Rawil member) carbonate-producing communities. With regard to taxonomic diversity, the Schrattenkalk coral fauna is comparable to the most species-rich Upper Jurassic reef assemblages and represents the last major coral-reef development of the Mesozoic.

A modern scleractinian coral with a two-component calcite-aragonite skeleton.

One of the most conserved traits in the evolution of biomineralizing organisms is the taxon-specific selection of skeletal minerals. All modern scleractinian corals are thought to produce skeletons exclusively of the calcium-carbonate polymorph aragonite. Despite strong fluctuations in ocean chemistry (notably the Mg/Ca ratio), this feature is believed to be conserved throughout the coral fossil record, spanning more than 240 million years. Only one example, the Cretaceous scleractinian coral Coelosmilia (ca. 70 to 65 Ma), is thought to have produced a calcitic skeleton. Here, we report that the modern asymbiotic scleractinian coral Paraconotrochus antarcticus living in the Southern Ocean forms a two-component carbonate skeleton, with an inner structure made of high-Mg calcite and an outer structure composed of aragonite. P. antarcticus and Cretaceous Coelosmilia skeletons share a unique microstructure indicating a close phylogenetic relationship, consistent with the early divergence of P. antarcticus within the Vacatina (i.e., Robusta) clade, estimated to have occurred in the Mesozoic (ca. 116 Mya). Scleractinian corals thus join the group of marine organisms capable of forming bimineralic structures, which requires a highly controlled biomineralization mechanism; this capability dates back at least 100 My. Due to its relatively prolonged isolation, the Southern Ocean stands out as a repository for extant marine organisms with ancient traits.

From particle attachment to space-filling coral skeletons.

Reef-building corals and their aragonite (CaCO3) skeletons support entire reef ecosystems, yet their formation mechanism is poorly understood. Here we used synchrotron spectromicroscopy to observe the nanoscale mineralogy of fresh, forming skeletons from six species spanning all reef-forming coral morphologies: Branching, encrusting, massive, and table. In all species, hydrated and anhydrous amorphous calcium carbonate nanoparticles were precursors for skeletal growth, as previously observed in a single species. The amorphous precursors here were observed in tissue, between tissue and skeleton, and at growth fronts of the skeleton, within a low-density nano- or microporous layer varying in thickness from 7 to 20 µm. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurements, however, indicated that the mature skeletons at the microscale were space-filling, comparable to single crystals of geologic aragonite. Nanoparticles alone can never fill space completely, thus ion-by-ion filling must be invoked to fill interstitial pores. Such ion-by-ion diffusion and attachment may occur from the supersaturated calcifying fluid known to exist in corals, or from a dense liquid precursor, observed in synthetic systems but never in biogenic ones. Concomitant particle attachment and ion-by-ion filling was previously observed in synthetic calcite rhombohedra, but never in aragonite pseudohexagonal prisms, synthetic or biogenic, as observed here. Models for biomineral growth, isotope incorporation, and coral skeletons' resilience to ocean warming and acidification must take into account the dual formation mechanism, including particle attachment and ion-by-ion space filling.

An efficient coral survey method based on a large-scale 3-D structure model obtained by Speedy Sea Scanner and U-Net segmentation.

Over the last 3 decades, a large portion of coral cover has been lost around the globe. This significant decline necessitates a rapid assessment of coral reef health to enable more effective management. In this paper, we propose an efficient method for coral cover estimation and demonstrate its viability. A large-scale 3-D structure model, with resolutions in the x, y and z planes of 0.01 m, was successfully generated by means of a towed optical camera array system (Speedy Sea Scanner). The survey efficiency attained was 12,146 m2/h. In addition, we propose a segmentation method utilizing U-Net architecture and estimate coral coverage using a large-scale 2-D image. The U-Net-based segmentation method has shown higher accuracy than pixelwise CNN modeling. Moreover, the computational cost of a U-Net-based method is much lower than that of a pixelwise CNN-based one. We believe that an array of these survey tools can contribute to the rapid assessment of coral reefs.

Comparative Proteomics of Octocoral and Scleractinian Skeletomes and the Evolution of Coral Calcification.

Corals are the ecosystem engineers of coral reefs, one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems. The ability of corals to form reefs depends on the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) under biological control. However, several mechanisms underlying coral biomineralization remain elusive, for example, whether corals employ different molecular machineries to deposit different CaCO3 polymorphs (i.e., aragonite or calcite). Here, we used tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) to compare the proteins occluded in the skeleton of three octocoral and one scleractinian species: Tubipora musica and Sinularia cf. cruciata (calcite sclerites), the blue coral Heliopora coerulea (aragonitic skeleton), and the scleractinian aragonitic Montipora digitata. Reciprocal Blast analysis revealed extremely low overlap between aragonitic and calcitic species, while a core set of proteins is shared between octocorals producing calcite sclerites. However, the carbonic anhydrase CruCA4 is present in the skeletons of both polymorphs. Phylogenetic analysis highlighted several possible instances of protein co-option in octocorals. These include acidic proteins and scleritin, which appear to have been secondarily recruited for calcification and likely derive from proteins playing different functions. Similarities between octocorals and scleractinians included presence of a galaxin-related protein, carbonic anhydrases, and one hephaestin-like protein. Although the first two appear to have been independently recruited, the third appear to share a common origin. This work represents the first attempt to identify and compare proteins associated with coral skeleton polymorph diversity, providing several new research targets and enabling both future functional and evolutionary studies aimed at elucidating the origin and evolution of coral biomineralization.

Collective Pulsing in Xeniid Corals: Part I-Using Computer Vision and Information Theory to Search for Coordination.

Xeniid corals (Cnidaria: Alcyonacea), a family of soft corals, include species displaying a characteristic pulsing behavior. This behavior has been shown to increase oxygen diffusion away from the coral tissue, resulting in higher photosynthetic rates from mutualistic symbionts. Maintaining such a pulsing behavior comes at a high energetic cost, and it has been proposed that coordinating the pulse of individual polyps within a colony might enhance the efficiency of fluid transport. In this paper, we test whether patterns of collective pulsing emerge in coral colonies and investigate possible interactions between polyps within a colony. We video recorded different colonies of Heteroxenia sp. in a laboratory environment. Our methodology is based on the systematic integration of a computer vision algorithm (ISOMAP) and an information-theoretic approach (transfer entropy), offering a vantage point to assess coordination in collective pulsing. Perhaps surprisingly, we did not detect any form of collective pulsing behavior in the colonies. Using artificial data sets, however, we do demonstrate that our methodology is capable of detecting even weak information transfer. The lack of a coordination is consistent with previous work on many cnidarians where coordination between actively pulsing polyps and medusa has not been observed. In our companion paper, we show that there is no fluid dynamic benefit of coordinated pulsing, supporting this result. The lack of coordination coupled with no obvious fluid dynamic benefit to grouping suggests that there may be non-fluid mechanical advantages to forming colonies, such as predator avoidance and defense.

Collective Pulsing in Xeniid Corals: Part II-Using Computational Fluid Dynamics to Determine if There are Benefits to Coordinated Pulsing.

Coordinated movements have been shown to enhance the speed or efficiency of swimming, flying, and pumping in many organisms. Coordinated pulsing has not been observed in many cnidarians (jellyfish, anemones, corals), as is the case for the xeniid corals considered in our corresponding paper. This observation opens the question as to whether xeniid corals, and cnidarians in general, do not coordinate their pulsing behavior for lack of a hydrodynamic advantage or for other reasons. For example, a diffuse nervous system with lack of substantial sensory input may not be capable of such coordination. Similarly, grouping may serve a defensive role rather than a fluid dynamic role. In this paper, the immersed boundary method is used to quantify the volumetric flux of fluid generated by an individual xeniid coral polyp in comparison with a pair of polyps. Both the distances between the polyps and the phase difference between each polyp are considered. More specifically, the fully coupled fluid-structure interaction problem of a coral polyp driving fluid flow is solved using a hybrid version of the immersed boundary method where the Navier-Stokes equations are solved using a finite differences and the elasticity equations describing the coral are solved using finite elements. We explore three possible hypotheses: (1) pulsing in pairs increases upward flow above the polyps and is thus beneficial, (2) these benefits vary with the polyps' pulsing phase difference, and (3) these benefits vary with the distance between the polyps. We find that there is no substantial hydrodynamic advantage to pulsing in a pair for any phase difference. The volumetric flux of fluid generated by each coral also decreases as the distance between polyps is decreased. This surprising result is consistent with measurements taken from another cnidarian with similar behavior, the upside down jellyfish, in which each medusa drives less flow when in a group.

Electrochemical Approach for Isolation of Chitin from the Skeleton of the Black Coral Cirrhipathes sp. (Antipatharia).

The development of novel and effective methods for the isolation of chitin, which remains one of the fundamental aminopolysaccharides within skeletal structures of diverse marine invertebrates, is still relevant. In contrast to numerous studies on chitin extraction from crustaceans, mollusks and sponges, there are only a few reports concerning its isolation from corals, and especially black corals (Antipatharia). In this work, we report the stepwise isolation and identification of chitin from Cirrhipathes sp. (Antipatharia, Antipathidae) for the first time. The proposed method, aiming at the extraction of the chitinous scaffold from the skeleton of black coral species, combined a well-known chemical treatment with in situ electrolysis, using a concentrated Na2SO4 aqueous solution as the electrolyte. This novel method allows the isolation of α-chitin in the form of a microporous membrane-like material. Moreover, the extracted chitinous scaffold, with a well-preserved, unique pore distribution, has been extracted in an astoundingly short time (12 h) compared to the earlier reported attempts at chitin isolation from Antipatharia corals.

Nanocrystals as phenotypic expression of genotypes-An example in coralline red algae.

Coralline red algae (CRA) are important ecosystem engineers in the world's oceans. They play key roles as primary food source and carbonate producers in marine habitats. CRA are also vital for modern reef systems where they act as substrate for coral growth and stabilizers of reef frameworks. However, morphotaxonomic identification of these important marine organisms is hampered by the fact that morphological concepts used for their classification do not correspond to molecular data. We present the first analysis of nanoscale features in calcified cell walls of CRA in a globally distributed sample set. We use new morphological traits based on these cell wall ultrastructures to construct an independent morphological phyletic tree that shows a promising congruency with existing CRA molecular phylogenies. Our results highlight cellular ultrastructures as a tool to define the phenotypic expression of genotypic information showing their potential to unify morphology with molecular phylogeny.

Phylotranscriptomics confirms Alveopora is sister to Montipora within the family Acroporidae.

The genus Alveopora is a scleractinian coral taxon whose phylogenetic classification has recently changed from the family Poritidae to Acroporidae. This change, which was made based on single-locus genetic data, has led to uncertainty about the placement of Alveopora and the ability for deep evolutionary relationships in these groups to be accurately recovered and represented by limited genetic datasets. We sought to characterize the higher-level position of Alveopora using newly available transcriptome data to confirm its placement within Acroporidae and resolve its closest ancestor. Here we present an analysis of a new 2031 gene dataset that confirms the placement of Alveopora within Acroporidae corroborating other single-locus (COI, 16S and ITS) analyses and a mitogenome dataset. We also resolve the position of Alveopora as sister to the genus Montipora. This has allowed the re-interpretation of morphology, and a rediagnosis of the family Acroporidae and the genus Alveopora.

Redescription of Synactinernus flavus for the First Time after a Century and Description of Synactinernus churaumi sp. nov. (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria).

Two species of Synactinernus sea anemones were found in Japanese waters. Synactinernus flavus Carlgren, 1918, the only described species of this genus, is rediscovered from off the Goto Islands a century after the original description. Synactinernus flavus was once synonymized with Isactinernus quadrilobatus Carlgren, 1918; however, we show that, based on morphological (including examination of type specimens) and molecular (using nuclear 18S rDNA) evidence, these species are completely different. The other species, Synactinernus churaumi sp. nov., was found off Ishigaki Island and Okinawa Island by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and had been kept for 15 years in a tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. There are clear differences between these two species; therefore, we describe the second species and revise the diagnosis of Synactinernus.