Tanacetipathes Opresko 2001 b

Lima, Manuela M., Cordeiro, Ralf T. S. & Perez, Carlos D., 2019, Black Corals (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from the Southwestern Atlantic, Zootaxa 4692 (1), pp. 1-67 : 25-26

Genus Tanacetipathes Opresko 2001 b

Type-species. Antipathes tanacetum Pourtalès, 1880 (by original designation: Opresko, 2001 b).

Diagnosis. “Corallum monopodial or branched. Stem and branches columnar (bottlebrush); pinnulate and subpinnulate to the third or fourth order. Primary pinnules arranged in four to six regular rows and in alternating biserial groups of two or three pinnules each. Secondary pinnules primarily on lateral sides of primaries and usually developed more extensively on abpolypar side of primaries. One or more uniserial tertiary pinnules present on the abpolypar side of the lowermost secondary pinnules. Quartenary pinnules present in some species” ( Opresko, 2001 a).

Remarks. The genus Tanacetipathes Opresko, 2001 b includes 11 species of corals that resemble “bottle-brushes” found only in the Atlantic Ocean. The genus is one of the largest taxa of the family, presenting well-defined diagnostic characteristics, which refer to the probable monophyly of the group ( Opresko, 2001; Brugler et al., 2013).

Distribution. Restricted to the Atlantic ( Opresko, 2001 b).