Genus Schizopathes Brook, 1889

Type-species. Schizopathes crassa Brook, 1889 (original designation by inference, see Opresko, 1997:158).

Diagnosis. Corallum monopodial and pinnulate, unattached, with hook-like holdfast for support in soft sediments. Pinnules simple, bilateral and alternate. Spines simple, triangular, compressed. Polyps 3–6 mm in transverse diameter (Opresko, 2002).

Remarks. The genus Schizopathes Brook, 1889 is the only one, within the order, to harbor species that do not depend on hard substrates for fixation, presenting a modified hook for support in soft bottoms (Wagner, 2015; Opresko, 1997). Some species of the genus Alternatipathes, and in particular, A. alternata (Brook) are almost identical to species of Schizopathes with the exception that they have a basal holdfast for attaching to hard substrates.

Distribution. Cosmopolitan (Molodtsova, 2014).