Antipathidae Explained

Antipathidae is a family of corals in the order Antipatharia, commonly known as black corals. They are generally considered a deep-water taxon; however, some of the most diverse communities are known from tropical shallow waters.

Taxonomy

This family contains the following genera according to the World Register of Marine Species:^[1]

• Allopathes Opresko & Cairns, 1994 -- 3 species
• Antipathes Pallas, 1766 -- 66 species
• Cirrhipathes de Blainville, 1830 -- 16 species
• Hillopathes van Pesch, 1914 -- 1 species
• Pseudocirrhipathes Bo & al., 2009 -- 1 species
• Pteropathes Brook, 1889 -- 1 species
• Stichopathes Brook, 1889 -- 34 species

Bibliography

• Web site: Spotlight on Antipatharians (Black Corals) . Opresko . Dennis . NMNH.typepad.com .
• TERRANA, LUCAS, et al. “Shallow-Water Black Corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Antipatharia) from SW Madagascar.” Zootaxa, vol. 4826, no. 1, 2020, https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4826.1.1.

Notes and References

1. 2012 . Antipathidae . 103301 . 2012-03-18.