Glow in the D-ARK: a new bioluminescent species of Corallizoanthus (Anthozoa: Zoantharia: Parazoanthidae) from southern Japan

TL;DR

A new glowing species of Corallizoanthus was discovered in southern Japan, offering insights into bioluminescence in deep-sea environments.

Contribution

The discovery of a new bioluminescent Corallizoanthus species and its bioluminescence data in Hexacorallia.

Findings

A new bioluminescent Corallizoanthus species was described from southern Japan.

Bioluminescence activity and spectral data were recorded for the new species and another parazoanthid species.

The study suggests integrating bioluminescence data into zoantharian taxonomy for evolutionary and ecological insights.

Abstract

Bioluminescence is a common phenomenon found in many marine environments and has evolved independently dozens of times across the Tree of Life. In Anthozoa, a single origin of bioluminescence in Octocorallia has been proposed, while the evolution of bioluminescence in Hexacorallia remains unclear due to incomplete taxon sampling. This study, based on recent deep-sea surveys in southern Japan, describes a new bioluminescent Corallizoanthus species that is epibiotic on Coralliidae octocoral species and also provides observations of bioluminescence activity and spectral data for the new species and another parazoanthid species. As bioluminescence in Hexacorallia has been primarily found in order Zoantharia, integrating bioluminescence data into zoantharian taxonomy would allow not only a new understanding of the evolution of Hexacorallia, but also insights into the ecological aspects of bioluminescence in deep-sea environments.

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