| A new family of antipatharian corals, Aphanipathidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Antipatharia), is established for Aphanipathes sarothamnoides Brook and related species. The family is characterized by tall, conical, acicular or cylindrical spines, which are usually covered to some degree with small tubercles (smooth spines occur in some species), and by polyps that are 0.5-1.3 mm in transverse diameter and have small, subequal tentacles. The family is divided into two subfamilies based on differences in the development of the polypar spines. In the Aphanipathinae the polypar spines are subequal. Genera are recognized on the basis of morphological features of the corallum. Aphanipathes Brook (type species A. sarothamnoides Brook) has a sparsely to densely branched... |
