Antipathes Pallas, 1766

Opresko, D. M., 2005, A new species of antipatharian coral (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from the southern California Bight, Zootaxa 852, pp. 1-10 : 2

Antipathes Pallas, 1766

Diagnosis. Corallum sparsely to densely branched; bushy or flabellate; rarely monopodial. Branchlets of varying length; arranged irregularly, or bilaterally; rarely pinnulate. Spines usually triangular to conical in lateral view, smooth or papillose; often laterally compressed; sometimes with knobs or multiple forking at the apex. Polyps from about 1 to 3 mm in transverse diameter, sometimes longer along the sagittal axis than along the tranverse axis.

Type species. Antipathes dichotoma Pallas,1766 .

Type material. A neotype has recently been established for Antipathes dichotoma (see Opresko 2003b). The type species is characterized by having relatively large polyps (up to 2 mm in transverse diameter), a rather sparsely and irregularly branched corallum, and large, smooth spines.

Remarks. Although many species formerly referred to Antipathes have now been reassigned to other genera in two newly established families ( Myriopathidae and Aphanipathidae ), the genus still contains species of very diverse morphology. It is likely that with further taxonomic revisions species in this genus will be recategorized, primarily on the basis of the morphology of the polyps and on the growth form of the corallum, and, it is quite possible that some species now assigned to Antipathes may be removed from the family.