Parantipathes Brook, 1889

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 : 47

Genus Parantipathes Brook, 1889

Type-species. Antipathes larix Esper, 1790 (by original designation).

Diagnosis. “Corallum monopodial to very sparsely branched, stem and branches pinnulate. Pinnules simple, arranged in six or more rows, and in alternating groups of three or more on either side of the axis. Spines simple, triangular, compressed. Polyps 1.6–2.5 mm in transverse diameter (rarely larger)” ( Opresko, 2002).

Remarks. Brook (1889) described the genus Parantipathes based primarily on polyp features of P. larix , such as the transverse length four times that of the sagittal axis, in addition to long, slender tentacles. In relation to the morphology of the colony, the author highlights only the presence of rare branches. There are now nine nominal species of Parantipathes (see Molodtsova 2006, Opresko, 2015), and all but one of them has a corallum that is monopodial or only sparsely branched. The only species with a dense ramification pattern is Parantipathes wolffi Pasternak, 1997 , with ramifications up to the fifth order ( Molodtsova & Pasternak, 2005).

Distribution. Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic, southwest Pacific ( Opresko, 2002) and north Pacific ( Molodtsova & Pasternak, 2005).