| The marine invertebrate fauna of the Cape Verde Islands contains many endemic species due to their isolated location in the eastern Atlantic, yet research has not been conducted on most taxa here. One such group are the zoanthids or mat anemones, an order of benthic cnidarians (Hexacorallia: Zoantharia) common in many marine environments. In this study, the diversity of zoanthids in the Cape Verde Islands is specifically examined for the first time. Field images and sampling are combined with molecular phylogenetic analyses utilizing two mitochondrial DNA markers (cytochrome oxidase subunit I and 16S ribosomal DNA) to determine the number of species present. Specimens from eight species (Palythoa caribaeorum, Palythoa sp. 265, Zoanthus aff. pulchellus,... |
