The Stylasteridae, commonly known as lace corals, is a family of colonial calcifying hydrozoans mostly inhabiting deep waters. Stylasterids show a cosmopolitan distribution but, in some areas, they are characterized by low species diversity, such as in the Red Sea, where only a shallow-water species has been reported so far. With this work, we provide the first evidence of a deep-sea stylasterid inhabiting the NEOM region in the northern Saudi Arabian Red Sea, at depths ranging between 166 and 492 m. Morphological examinations revealed that this species was previously unknown and belonging to the genus Stylaster. We, therefore, describe Stylaster tritoni sp. nov., representing the first record of the genus in the Red Sea. Lastly, the phylogenetic position of the species within the Stylasteridae was evaluated, revealing a close relationship with shallow-water Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic Stylaster species and confirming the polyphyletic nature of the genus Stylaster.

Maggioni, D., Terraneo, T., Chimienti, G., Marchese, F., Pica, D., Cairns, S., et al. (2022). The First Deep-Sea Stylasterid (Hydrozoa, Stylasteridae) of the Red Sea. DIVERSITY, 14(4) [10.3390/d14040241].

The First Deep-Sea Stylasterid (Hydrozoa, Stylasteridae) of the Red Sea

Maggioni, Davide
Primo
;
Marchese, Fabio;Benzoni, Francesca
2022

Abstract

The Stylasteridae, commonly known as lace corals, is a family of colonial calcifying hydrozoans mostly inhabiting deep waters. Stylasterids show a cosmopolitan distribution but, in some areas, they are characterized by low species diversity, such as in the Red Sea, where only a shallow-water species has been reported so far. With this work, we provide the first evidence of a deep-sea stylasterid inhabiting the NEOM region in the northern Saudi Arabian Red Sea, at depths ranging between 166 and 492 m. Morphological examinations revealed that this species was previously unknown and belonging to the genus Stylaster. We, therefore, describe Stylaster tritoni sp. nov., representing the first record of the genus in the Red Sea. Lastly, the phylogenetic position of the species within the Stylasteridae was evaluated, revealing a close relationship with shallow-water Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic Stylaster species and confirming the polyphyletic nature of the genus Stylaster.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
lace coral; new record; new species; phylogeny; Stylaster; Stylaster tritoni;
English
25-mar-2022
2022
14
4
241
open
Maggioni, D., Terraneo, T., Chimienti, G., Marchese, F., Pica, D., Cairns, S., et al. (2022). The First Deep-Sea Stylasterid (Hydrozoa, Stylasteridae) of the Red Sea. DIVERSITY, 14(4) [10.3390/d14040241].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/366255
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