Three new species of the sea fan genus Muricea (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Plexauridae) from the northwest region of Mexico.

ABSTRACT: Twenty-one nominal species of Muricea have been reported in the Eastern Pacific with nine of them reported in the Mexican Pacific. We describe three new species of Muricea: Muriceaambaraesp. nov. and Muriceacacaosp. nov., from rocky reefs on the central and the northern Gulf of California and the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, and Muriceamolinaisp. nov., from the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur. Muriceaambaraesp. nov. and M.cacaosp. nov. are taxonomically allied to the nominal species Muriceafruticosa Verrill, 1869 due to the morphological similarity of colony growth patterns and the phylogenetic closeness based on the mitochondrial MutS gene (mtMutS); but differ mainly in the calyx form and com

SUBMITTER: Hernandez O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10369450 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature