Tubastraea candidiflora sp. nov. (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae): a New Sun Coral Species from Fujian, Southeastern China.

IF 1.4 3区生物学 Q2 ZOOLOGY

Zoological Studies Pub Date : 2026-09-11 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI:10.6620/ZS.2026.65-34

Fei Xia, Cheng Yang, Min Liu, Lan Liu, Xinqing Zheng, Xinming Liu

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Abstract

The genus Tubastraea Lesson, 1830 comprises azooxanthellate corals commonly known as sun corals. Based on specimens collected from Dongshan Island, southeastern China, we describe a new species, Tubastraea candidiflora sp. nov. The species is distinguished from most congeners by the combination of pure white tentacles, a Pourtalès plan, a phaceloid to weakly branching colony form, and strongly differentiated costae. Pairwise comparisons of three commonly used markers (COI, IGR, and rDNA) show substantial rDNA divergence from congeners (p-distance = 2.61-6.09%). Phylogenetic analyses of the concatenated three-marker dataset recover the Dongshan specimens as a distinct lineage, and an independent UCE phylogenomic dataset recovers the same clade with strong support. Together, the morphological and molecular evidence supports T. candidiflora sp. nov. as a distinct species and expands current knowledge of Tubastraea diversity in subtropical China.

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念珠管珊瑚sp. 11 .（核虫纲：树突珊瑚科）：福建太阳珊瑚新种。

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来源期刊

Zoological Studies 生物-动物学

CiteScore

2.80

自引率

6.20%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Zoological Studies publishes original research papers in five major fields: Animal Behavior, Comparative Physiology, Evolution, Ecology, and Systematics and Biogeography. Manuscripts are welcome from around the world and must be written in English. When the manuscript concerns the use of animals or specimens in research, a statement must be included to the effect that the author(s) has adhered to the legal requirements of the country in which the work was carried out or to any institutional guidelines.