Revisiting Chilean gorgonians (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae): taxonomic clarification and molecular phylogeny of Leptogorgia chilensis and Phycogorgia fucata.

Most biodiversity studies of eastern Pacific octocorals have focused on the tropical shallow waters from Mexico to Peru, and more recently, on those off Chile. The first description of a Chilean octocoral dates back to the H.M.S. Challenger expedition (1873–1876), and since then, only a few descript...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Camps Castellà, Judith, Vargas, Sergio, Vera Escalona, Iván, Prado Villegas, Patricia, Hinojosa, Iván A., Brante, Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de la UB
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:ubarcelona__::5de94941ac3632b76f5c0f9296344c8d
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/229497
Access Level:acceso embargado
Palabra clave:Gonadotrofines
Invertebrats marins
Gonadotropins
Marine invertebrates
Descripción
Sumario:Most biodiversity studies of eastern Pacific octocorals have focused on the tropical shallow waters from Mexico to Peru, and more recently, on those off Chile. The first description of a Chilean octocoral dates back to the H.M.S. Challenger expedition (1873–1876), and since then, only a few descriptions of new coral species have been published from this region. In addition, the taxonomic status of most gorgonians reported from the temperate Pacific coast of South America remains uncertain due to the loss of the original type material. In this study, we use morphological characters and nuclear and mitochondrial markers to re-evaluate the taxonomy of the Chilean gorgonians <em>Phycogorgia fucata</em> and <em>Leptogorgia chilensis</em>. Our findings support the monophyly of Chilean <em>Leptogorgia</em>, confirm that <em>Leptogorgia chilensis </em>from Chile is distinct from specimens identified as the same species in California, and reveal that <em>P. fucata</em>, despite its unique morphology, should be included in the genus <em>Leptogorgia</em>.