2026/04/07 by Meiling Ge, Ningxia Xu, Xuying Hu +6 · 1 voice
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Identification and Quantification in Food #Marine Biology and Ecology Research
paper · doi:10.3897/zse.102.182492
openalex publication_date 2026/04/07 · openalex created_date 2026/04/08 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Species of the family Chrysogorgiidae are distributed worldwide in deep-sea environments. However, most recorded species of this family were from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, with only a few reports from the Indian Ocean, particularly from ridge regions. This study describes three new species and reports two known species from Indian Ocean ridges, integrating morphological and molecular analyses ( mtMutS and 28S rDNA ). Chrysogorgia pugnioides Ge, Hu & Xu, sp. nov . is characterized by fist-like polyps; warty spindles in tentacles; flat and irregular spindles and elongate scales in the polyp body wall; and slender and smooth scales with toothed to irregular edges in the coenenchyme. Iridogorgia acutisclerita Ge, Zhang & Xu, sp. nov . resembles I. splendens but differs by possessing needles and pointed elongate scales in the polyp body wall. Iridogorgia levisquama Ge, Zhang & Xu, sp. nov . is differentiated from the congeneric I. squarrosa by slender and smooth scales with sharp ends in the polyp body wall and needles with fine wartiness in the tentacles. Parachrysogorgia chryseis and Metallogorgia melanotrichos are reported as new records for the Indian Ocean ridges. These findings expand the known biodiversity and biogeographic range of Chrysogorgiidae in the Indian Ocean ridges.