Vol. 62, 2023

(update: 2023.7.6)

Taxonomy and Molecular Phylogeny of the Sea Anemone Macrodactyla (Haddon, 1898) (Cnidaria, Actiniaria), with a Description of a New Species from Singapore

Nicholas Wei Liang Yap^1,2,*, Michela Lee Mitchell³, Zheng Bin Randolph Quek⁴, Ria Tan⁵, Koh Siang Tan^1,2, and Danwei Huang^1,4,5

¹Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, S2S Building, 18 Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119227. Correspondence: E-mail: cosmogony84@gmail.com (Yap).
E-mail: tmstanks@nus.edu.sg (Tan); huangdanwei@nus.edu.sg (Huang)
²St. John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, c/o Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, 18 Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119227
³Biodiversity and Geosciences, Museum of Tropical Queensland, 70-102 Flinders Street, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. E-mail: michela.mitchell@qm.qld.gov.au (Mitchell)
⁴Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Block S3 Level 4, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117558. E-mail: randolphquek@nus.edu.sg (Quek)
⁵c/o Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, 2 Conservatory Drive, Singapore 117377. E-mail: hello@wildsingapore.com (Tan)

(Received 12 August 2022 / Accepted 28 April 2023 / Published -- 2023)
Communicated by James D. Reimer

Sea anemones (Cnidaria, Actiniaria) are a successful group of marine invertebrates found in a diverse range of environments globally. In spite of their ubiquity, identities for many sea anemones remain unverified, especially those from the Indo-West Pacific region. Here, we clarify the taxonomy of the poorly known Macrodactyla aspera, a shallow-water species first described from the Torres Straits in northern Australia. We re-describe M. aspera based on new morphological and molecular data gathered from the type specimen, other museum vouchers, and from fresh material collected from Singapore. We tested the monophyly of Macrodactyla using three mitochondrial (12S, 16S and cox3) and one nuclear (28S) marker based on three congeners, recovering this genus to be polyphyletic. As a consequence, we transferred M. doreensis to the genus Heteractis, and describe a new species, Macrodactyla fautinae sp. nov. While both M. aspera and M. fautinae sp. nov. share the same arrangement and number of complete mesenteries, a similar distribution of cnidae, and are not symbiotically associated with any other biota, M. fautinae sp. nov. has perforated, lobe-like verrucae on its column, and lacks nematocyst batteries on its tentacles, unlike M. aspera. These two species also occur in similar habitats in Singapore. Finally, because M. aspera strongly resembles Dofleinia armata, the latter species flagged as a danger to public health due to its ability to inflict painful stings, we tested the relationship between these species and found them not to be closely related. However, tentacles of M. aspera, like D. armata, are densely covered with nematocyst batteries and harbour large nematocysts; we infer that M. aspera may also be capable of delivering stings that endanger public health. This study builds upon a growing number of studies that aim to ascertain identities and systematics of sea anemones historically reported from the Indo-West Pacific. Our findings will facilitate accurate species identification, which is crucial for advancing research, formulating conservationmeasures, and protecting public health.

Key words: Actinioidea, Anthozoa, Intertidal, Integrative taxonomy, Southeast Asia.

Citation: Yap NWL, Mitchell ML, Quek ZBR, Tan R, Tan KS, Huang D. 2023. Taxonomy and molecular phylogeny of the sea anemone Macrodactyla (Haddon, 1898) (Cnidaria, Actiniaria), with a description of a new species from Singapore. Zool Stud 62:29. doi:10.6620/ZS.2023.62-29.

Supplementary materials: Table S1丨Fig S1丨Fig S2丨Fig S3丨Fig S4丨Fig S5丨Fig S6丨Fig S7