title: Pachyseris inattesa sp. n. (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Scleractinia): a new reef coral species from the Red Sea and its phylogenetic relationships.
abstract: A new scleractinian coral species, Pachyseris inattesa sp. n., is described from the Red Sea. Despite a superficial resemblance with some species in the agariciid genus Leptoseris with which it has been previously confused, P. inattesa sp. n. has micro-morphological characters typical of the genus Pachyseris. This genus, once part of the Agariciidae, is comprised of five extant species and is widely distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. It is currently incertae sedis as a result of recent molecular analysis and appears to be closely related to the Euphylliidae. A molecular phylogenetic reconstruction including P. inattesa sp. n., the genus type species P. rugosa, and P. speciosa, all present in the Red Sea, was performed using the mitochondrial intergenic spacer between COI and 16S-rRNA. The results confirm that P. inattesa sp. n. is a monophyletic lineage closely related to the other Pachyseris species examined.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milan, Italy ; Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Tullia I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Terraneo
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Michael L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Berumen
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arrigoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Zoology, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands ; Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Zarinah
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Waheed
authors.affiliation: Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bouwmeester
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caragnano
authors.affiliation: Water Research Institute-National Research Council (IRSA-CNR), Via del Mulino 19, I-20861 Brugherio, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 2, 20126 Milan, Italy ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR227 Coreus2, 101 Promenade Roger Laroque, BP A5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benzoni
keywords: COI-16S-rRNA intergenic spacer; Leptoseris foliosa; Pachyseris rugosa; Pachyseris speciosa; micro-morphology; taxonomy