Two Novel Acanthogorgiid Octocorals from the Northwestern Pacific
We established one new genus and two new species of octocorals by combining morphology, mtMutS, 28S rDNA, and ultraconserved element (UCE) phylogenomics: Granulogorgia jiani sp. nov. and Spinagorgia gibbosa gen. et sp. nov. Both UCE phylogenomics and mtMutS topology recovered the two taxa as a distinct clade within Acanthogorgiidae. ADMIXTURE analysis of UCE-derived SNPs supports Granulogorgia jiani sp. nov. as a distinct species from its congener G. amoebosquama. The mtMutS gene outperforms 28S rDNA for distinguishing species of Granulogorgia-Spinagorgia lineage. Despite close genetic affinity, the two genera exhibit pronounced differences in calicular and coenenchymal sclerites. This discordance between sequence similarity and morphological divergence underscores the necessity of integrative taxonomy and phylogenomic analyses within Acanthogorgiidae.
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