Two new species of gorgonian octocorals from the Tropical Eastern Pacific Biogeographic Region (Cnidaria,Anthozoa, Gorgoniidae) |
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| Authors: | Odalisca Breedy Gary C Williams Hector M Guzman |
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| Affiliation: | 1.Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad de Costa Rica. Centro de Investigación en Estructuras Microscópicas, P.O. Box 11501-2060, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica ; 2. Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Geology, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, California, 94118, USA ; 3.Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, P.O. Box 0843-03092, Panama, Republic of Panama |
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| Abstract: | The gorgoniid Eugorgia is exclusively an eastern Pacific genus. It has a wide geographic and bathymetric range of distribution, found from California to Perú and extends down to 65 m deep. Two new species are herein described. The morphological characters were analyzed and illustrated by light and scanning electron microscopy. Eugorgia beebeisp. n. can be distinguished by its white, ascending, sparse colony growth. Eugorgia mutabilissp. n. can be distinguished by its white colony that changes color after collection, and the conspicuous sharp-crested disc sclerites. From a morphological point of view the new species are related to the daniana-group, the rubens-group and the siedenburgae-group of Eugorgia; their affiliations, and the proposal of a new group are discussed. These new species increases the number of species in the genus to 15, and contribute to the knowledge of the eastern Pacific octocoral biodiversity. |
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| Keywords: | Eugorgia eastern Pacific gorgonian soft corals taxonomy white species |
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