Abstract
Lobophylliidae is a family-level clade of corals within the ‘robust’ lineage of Scleractinia. It comprises species traditionally classified as Indo-Pacific ‘mussids’, ‘faviids’, and ‘pectiniids’. Following detailed revisions of the closely related families Merulinidae, Mussidae, Montastraeidae, and Diploastraeidae, this monograph focuses on the taxonomy of Lobophylliidae. Specifically, we studied 44 of a total of 54 living lobophylliid species from all 11 genera based on an integrative analysis of colony, corallite, and subcorallite morphology with molecular sequence data. By examining coral skeletal features at three distinct levels – macromorphology, micromorphology, and microstructure – we built a morphological matrix comprising 46 characters. Data were analysed via maximum parsimony and transformed onto a robust molecular phylogeny inferred using two nuclear (histone H3 and internal transcribed spacers) and one mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) DNA loci. The results suggest that micromorphological characters exhibit the lowest level of homoplasy within Lobophylliidae. Molecular and morphological trees show that Symphyllia, Parascolymia, and Australomussa should be considered junior synonyms of Lobophyllia, whereas Lobophyllia pachysepta needs to be transferred to Acanthastrea. Our analyses also lend strong support to recent revisions of Acanthastrea, which has been reorganized into five separate genera (Lobophyllia, Acanthastrea, Homophyllia, Sclerophyllia, and Micromussa), and to the establishment of Australophyllia. Cynarina and the monotypic Moseleya remain unchanged, and there are insufficient data to redefine Oxypora, Echinophyllia, and Echinomorpha. Finally, all lobophylliid genera are diagnosed under the phylogenetic classification system proposed here, which will facilitate the placement of extinct taxa on the scleractinian tree of life.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 436-481 |
| Number of pages | 46 |
| Journal | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |
| Volume | 178 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 14 2016 |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledgements: For comments on taxonomy, we thank S. D. Cairns, B. W. Hoeksema, and B. R. Rosen. We appreciate the following for assistance with museum loans, cataloguing information, and specimen photographs: T. S. Adrain (SUI), K. S. Chua and S. K. Tan (ZRC), A. J. Baldinger (MCZ), A. Andouche and P. Lozouet (MNHN), C. C. Wallace, B. J. Done, and P. R. Muir (MTQ), J. G. Darrell, K. G. Johnson, N. Santodomingo, and H. Taylor (NHMUK), G. Paulay (UF), W. Y. Licuanan and K. S. Luzon (UP), S. D. Cairns, T. Coffer, and T. C. Walter (USNM), Z. T. Richards (WAM), C. Lueter, K. Loch, and W. Loch (ZMB), and M. V. Sørensen and M. T. Tøttrup (ZMUC). We also thank M. L. Berumen (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) for samples from the Red Sea, E. Karsenti (European Molecular Biology Laboratory), É. Bourgois (Tara Oceans Expeditions), and the OCEANS consortium for sampling in Gambier Island and Djibouti during the Tara Oceans Expeditions, A. H. Baird and M. O. Hoogenboom (James Cook University) for specimens from Australia, C. Payri and B. Dreyfus (IRD) for collections in New Caledonia, and the Niugini Biodiversity Expedition and P. Bouchet (MNHN) for specimens from Papua New Guinea, as well as E. Dutrieux (CREOCEAN) and C. H. Chaineau (Total SA) for samples from Yemen. M. Wortel of the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences Petrographic Facilities at the University of Iowa prepared thin sections. Scanning electron microscopy was performed at the University of Iowa Central Microscopy Research Facility, and also at USNM aided by Caitlin Baker. Y. X. Tee helped to verify the references. Funds were provided by the US National Science Foundation Grants DEB-1145043, 1331980, as well as the National University of Singapore Start-up Grant R-154-000-671-133. Data reported here are available as Supporting Information and in the Corallosphere database.