Diplopathes, Opresko & Stewart & Voza & Tracey & Brugler, 2022

Opresko, Dennis M., Stewart, Rob, Voza, Tatiana, Tracey, Di & Brugler, Mercer R., 2022, New genus and species of black coral from the SW Pacific and Antarctica (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia: Schizopathidae), Zootaxa 5169 (1), pp. 31-48 : 35

Diplopathes gen. nov. Opresko

Type species. Diplopathes antarctica sp. nov. (designated herein).

Diagnosis. Corallum sparsely to densely branched; stem and branches pinnulate. Pinnules simple (without subpinnules); arranged bilaterally in two rows and also alternately. Spines smooth, triangular and compressed to conical, usually simple, but sometimes bifurcated and forming double spines; up to about 0.1 mm tall on the polyp side of the axis. Polyps up to 4 mm in transverse diameter; arranged uniserially on branches and pinnules.

Species assigned to Diplopathes . Three species are assigned to Diplopathes in this report: D. antarctica sp. nov., D. multipinnata sp. nov., and D. tuatoruensis sp. nov. The major characters used to differentiate the species are the length of the pinnules, the size of the spines, and the density of the branching of the corallum.

Distribution. The genus is at present known from the Lord Howe Rise in the SW Pacific and from the Ross Sea in the Southern Ocean (Pacific Antarctic Ridge region inside 60 o South).

Etymology. The genus name is derived from the Greek diploos meaning “double” or “twofold”, referring to the two rows of pinnules, and the standard suffix pathes.