Wishingrad Van, Shizuru Leah E K, Takata Kenji, Montgomery Anthony D, Wagner Daniel, Toonen Robert J
Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Kaneohe, Hawai'i, United States.
Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Yayoi, Japan.
PeerJ. 2025 May 30;13:e18731. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18731. eCollection 2025.
Most inferences about black coral (Antipatharia) phylogenetics have relied on a handful of molecular markers from PCR-Sanger methods but recently complete mitogenomes are shedding additional light on relationships. We present the most complete survey of shallow-water to mesophotic Hawaiian black corals ('ēkaha kū moana) to date based on complete mitogenome sequences. The phylogenetic relationships inferred from whole-mitochondrial phylogenies recover Myriopathidae as monophyletic with and as the outgroups to all other Hawaiian black coral taxa. Combining our data with other published mitochondrial datasets for black corals, we find that morphologically similar cf. specimens are divergent and may not be conspecifics. Likewise, the genera and (family Antipathidae) include species that are more divergent from one another than they are to other genera in family Aphanipathidae. Overall, data show Myriopathidae is a monophyletic family, but the families Aphanipathidae and Antipathidae are polyphyletic, and the genera and live up to their reputation as a "taxonomic dumping ground". These phylogenetic analyses underscore the need for continued research to understand the evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships for black corals generally and 'ēkaha kū moana specifically.
大多数关于黑珊瑚（角珊瑚目）系统发育的推断都依赖于聚合酶链反应-桑格法的少数分子标记，但最近完整的线粒体基因组为其亲缘关系提供了更多线索。我们基于完整的线粒体基因组序列，对浅水至中光层的夏威夷黑珊瑚（“ēkaha kū moana”）进行了迄今为止最全面的调查。从全线粒体系统发育推断出的系统发育关系显示，多枝黑珊瑚科是单系的，以[具体物种1]和[具体物种2]作为所有其他夏威夷黑珊瑚类群的外类群。将我们的数据与其他已发表的黑珊瑚线粒体数据集相结合，我们发现形态相似的[具体物种3] cf. [具体物种4]标本存在差异，可能并非同种。同样，角珊瑚属和[另一属]（角珊瑚科）中的物种彼此之间的差异比它们与隐黑珊瑚科中其他属的差异更大。总体而言，数据表明多枝黑珊瑚科是一个单系科，但隐黑珊瑚科和角珊瑚科是多系的，而[上述提到的属]名副其实地成为了一个“分类学倾销地”。这些系统发育分析强调了持续开展研究的必要性，以全面了解黑珊瑚的进化历史和系统发育关系，特别是“ēkaha kū moana”的相关情况。
