Pseudonephthea is a genus of corals containing the only species Pseudonephthea liltvedi, or the stalked cauliflower soft coral. It is a cnidarian that is endemic to the coast of South Africa.
| Pseudonephthea | |
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| Pseudonephthea liltvedi | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Octocorallia |
| Order: | Malacalcyonacea |
| Family: | Pseudonephtheidae McFadden, van Ofwegen & Quattrini, 2022 |
| Genus: | Pseudonephthea McFadden, van Ofwegen & Quattrini, 2022 |
| Species: | P. liltvedi
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| Binomial name | |
| Pseudonephthea liltvedi (Verseveldt & Williams, 1988)
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| Synonyms | |
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Description
editColonies, which may consist of several stems, rise from a single base. The colonies range between 56 mm (2.2 in) and 110 mm (4.3 in) in size.[1] They form erect, cauliflower-like forms with the polyps closely clustered at the ends of short, narrow branches. The bundles of polyps are supported by cup-like structures and do not have.[1] The colonies are variable in colour and usually range from white or pale beige to pink and orange.[1]
They may look similar to species belonging to Eunephthya. Eunephthya species, however, have branches of equal width (opposed to a range of ranch thicknesses found in Pseudonephthea liltvedi).[1]
Distribution and habitat
editThis species is endemic to the Benguela region off the west coast of South Africa.[1][2] They lack zooxanthellae, which allows them to grow in deeper regions as they do not rely on the associated photosynthesis for sustenance. They are found in temperate waters at a depth of 20–2,000 m (66–6,562 ft).[1]
Taxonomy
editThis species was considered to belong to the genus Gersemia until 2022. Following a phylogenomic study it was moved into its own genus and its own family to reflect its unique phylogeny and morphology.[2] The family and genus name pay tribute to its former misclassification to two different genera in the family Nephtheidae.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Atkinson, Lara J; Sink, Kerry J (2018). Field guide to the offshore marine invertebrates of South Africa (PDF). Pretoria: South African Environmental Observation Network. ISBN 978-1-86868-098-6. OCLC 1037159161.
- ^ a b c McFadden, Catherine S.; Ofwegen, Leen P. van; Quattrini, Andrea M. (2022-10-14). "Revisionary systematics of Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) guided by phylogenomics". Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists. 1 (3). doi:10.18061/bssb.v1i3.8735. ISSN 2768-0819.