Lobophylliidae (Cnidaria, Scleractinia) reshuffled: pervasive non-monophyly at genus level.

ABSTRACT

The Indo-Pacific scleractinian coral family Lobophylliidae was recently described on the basis of molecular data and micromorphological and microstructural characters. We present the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny reconstruction of the family to date based on COI and rDNA including 9 genera and 32 species, 14 of which were investigated for the first time. The monophyly of the family is now strongly supported, with the inclusion of the genera Acanthastrea and Micromussa, whereas previously it was based on uncertain molecular relationships. Nevertheless, these and the other lobophylliid genera Echinophyllia, Micromussa, Oxypora, and Symphyllia, are not themselves monophyletic and need to be investigated from a morphological point of view. Acanthastrea faviaformis is nested within the family Merulinidae. This study highlights the need for further analyses at species level and of formal taxonomic actions.