Warning: the following is a nerdgasm of coral taxonomy, guest-written by Joe Rowlett, one of the many talented fish geeks working the fish tanks at老城区水族馆in Chicago.
从历史上看，珊瑚经常基于整个殖民地的形态结构（例如，新的息肉从内部生长（例如，Favia) or outside (e.g.Favites) of the old polyp… or if the polyps are grouped together (e.g.帕拉蒂拉）或分开（例如Caulastrea). These morphological characters had the advantage of being easy to observe, but have now been shown to be misleading when it comes to the true evolutionary history of the stony corals.
When coral researchers began using molecular data to look at coral evolution their results were completely at odds with the classification that had been used for decades. This has required a complete rewrite of our understanding of the coral tree of life, with numerous species, genera, and families being redescribed and renamed. The process is still ongoing, and it will likely be a decade or more before things settle and a new stable classification appears.
With this new framework of species’ relationships, researchers have now been able to more closely look for the more meaningful morphological traits that they had previously missed. What they have found is that the minute details of how the skeleton is secreted— the orientation of microscopic skeletal spines, the derivation of the polyp’s skeletal wall, etc. etc. etc.—is what matters most.
这意味着平均水族馆管理人the scientific names we use for corals are now outdated and inaccurate. In the aquarium industry it often takes years for taxonomic changes to become accepted and commonplace amongst retailers, wholesalers, hobbyists, and publications. Hopefully this article will help raise the industry’s awareness for what’s to come.
由于这个话题全部占有一定的巨大意义，因此我将重点关注以前的亚订单Faviina，其中包括：大脑，Acans，Scolys，Scolys，Chalices，Chalices，Blastos。基本上，大多数大型石质珊瑚（LPS）。一个主要发现是生物地理学对于对这组珊瑚进行分类的重要性，现在将大西洋脑珊瑚放置在墨西哥河家族中，而在梅卢利那科和洛博氏菌家族中，印度太平洋物种。
This has important implications for formerly circumtropical genera likeFaviaandMontastrea, as new names had to be made for these unrelated Indo-Pacific species. Dipsastrea is now the correct name for Indo-Pacific “Favia”; Phymastrea is correct for the Indo-Pacific “Montastrea”. The former “Montastrea” has so far been split into three genera, with a fourth likely to come when more research is completed.
A similar change has taken place for Scolymia, with the three Atlantic species retaining that name. The former “Scolymia australis” is now Homophyllia australis. The former “scolymia vitiensis“ 就是现在Parascolymia vitiensis。而且，确定“ indophyllia”与Cynarina并没有足够的不同，可以保证自己的属，因此现在是Cynarina Macassarensis。（最后的变化是我们一直以来都是水族馆的新事物。这两个人总是很难区分！）和“”阿斯胸desheyesiana”再次被视为塞纳琳娜lacrymalis。
ph！这是很多变化。怎么样？
In a brand new article by Arrigoni, et al. “acanthastreabowerbanki” and “A. hillae”被证明属于自己的独立，尚未命名为属。对于经常被识别的（从来没有为水族馆收集）也是如此！！！）Acanthastrea Maxima”. Furthermore,A. Faviaformiswas shown to not only not be anacanthastrea，但实际上它属于完全不同的珊瑚家族Merulinidae。这些是分类的重大变化，它们变得司空见惯。
The species name “faviaformis” indicates that it resembles the genus “Favia”, and it turns out this resemblance is due to the fact that it is a “Favia”, or ratherDipsastrea。最终的改变是罕见地看到的A. ishigakiensis, which will eventually be renamed as aLobophyllia。With all the changes to this genus, it’s unfortunate that they have yet to study the commonA. lordhowensis。I think we’d all be a little heartbroken if that most iconic of “acans” turned out to not actually be one.
属的圣杯珊瑚echinophyllia并被证明需要进一步修订，因为Oxypora所检查的每个人都独立地从内部演变echinophyllia。结果是Oxyporawill either end up being renamed asechinophyllia，或每个属的某些物种会更改名称。（这再次是大多数水族馆长期以来已经认识的结果。
LobophylliaandSymphylliaare two genera that are commonly confused by aquarists. And, as it turns out, this is becauseSymphyllia是从Lobophylliaand will likely have to be renamed as such. [For those uninitiated with the nuances of classification, it is generally verboten to treat a group as separate if it is directly derived from another group. This is termed ‘Paraphyly’. Modern classifications do their best to eliminate these artificial groups, but there are still notable exceptions.For instance: the equal rank of birds, mammals, and reptiles in most classifications, when birds and mammals clearly evolved from reptiles.
But such discussions are neither here nor there for the topic at hand…] It also turns out that the recently renamedParascolymia vitiensis深深地坐落在这一组中，必须重命名为“ lobophyllia vitiensis”。但是，这等待着对该小组的正式修订，这可能需要再花几年的时间。请享受说Parascolymia虽然您仍然可以。
在某个时刻，这些变化的复杂性和巨大性是压倒性的。我是否提到过GoniastreaandFaviteswill likely each be split up into new genera? Or that there is likely to be athird第四Blastomussa物种 - 即将成为形成的物种副塑料阿曼西斯is so genetically similar toBlastomussa merlettithat it is virtually indistinguishable, in spite of their differing morphology. And this is just one group of corals we are discussing!
The scope of what is being accomplished in rewriting the coral tree of life is truly impressive and unprecedented in zoological taxonomy. With this new information hidden away amongst obscure scientific journals, it is up to us as aquarists to stay informed and up-to-date on these continuing changes. Cheers.
