Parazoanthidae (Cnidaria, Zoantharia) associated with glass sponges on the Nishi-Shichito Ridge, northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the description of a new species

By

Kise, Hiroki
Reimer, James
Iguchi, Akira
Ise, Yuji
Tsuchida, Shinji
Fujiwara, Yoshihiro

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1221

Pages

343--362

Subjects

Baseline data , Hexasterophora , mitochondrial genome , Mitogenome , MPA , Phylogeny , seamount , taxonomy , zoantharian

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1221.131258

 

Abstract

Seamounts are biodiversity hotspots that face increasing threats from anthropogenic activities. Seamounts host diverse sessile suspension-feeding organisms such as sponges and anthozoans, which are crucial for seamount ecosystems as they construct three-dimensional habitats utilized by numerous other animals. Therefore, accurate identification of seamount fauna, in particular of sessile suspension-feeding organisms, is of paramount importance for robust conservation efforts. This study focused on Zoantharia, a sessile anthozoan group, and specifically the family Parazoanthidae, known for associations with many different host taxa, prominently including octocorals and sponges. We collected Parazoanthidae specimens from northwestern Pacific seamounts and formally describe a new species, Vitrumanthus flosculus Kise & Reimer, sp. nov., based on morphological and molecular analyses. We also report the complete mitochondrial genomes of this new species and the related species Churabana kuroshioae. Our results reconfirm the phylogenetic positions of these two species within Parazoanthidae, while demonstrating much remains to be learned about the benthic diversity of northwestern Pacific seamounts.