A new zooxanthellate scleractinian coral, Kishi, Nomura & Fukami, (Scleractinia, Merulinidae), is described from non-coral reef regions of Japan and northern Taiwan. This new species was previously recognized as a morphological variant of (Veron, 1990) and can be morphologically distinguished from that species by lacking groove-and-tube structures on corallite wall joints, and by having larger calices, numerous septa, and up to three corallites in one valley. The new species also formed an independent clade from its congeners, (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857), and (Wells, 1954), in the molecular phylogeny based on the mitochondrial intergenic region and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExtinct lineages can leave legacies in the genomes of extant lineages through ancient introgressive hybridization. The patterns of genomic survival of these extinct lineages provide insight into the role of extinct lineages in current biodiversity. However, our understanding on the genomic landscape of introgression from extinct lineages remains limited due to challenges associated with locating the traces of unsampled 'ghost' extinct lineages without ancient genomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF1. Fundamental and realized spatial niches were investigated through a combination of laboratory and mesocosm experiments, field observations and null model analysis in three intertidal gobiid species (Bathygobius fuscus, Chaenogobius annularis and C. gulosus).
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