Phylogeny of Zoanthids

Zoanthids are small colonial sea anemones easily recognised by its tentacles arrangement organised in two rows. They are found throughout the world, at all depths, however, they are more abundant in tropical waters.

The Zoantharia (=Zoantiniaria, Zoanthidea) is an order of Hexacorallia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa). The separation of the order in two suborders based on the organisation of the mesenteria suggested by Haddon and Schackelton in 1891 is still valid nowadays. If the separation between the two suborders is well accepted, the borders between the different genera are not always clearly distinguished. Species identification is very difficult not only due to the variability of shapes and colours, but also because of the chaotic present systematics of the group. Most diagnosis is incomplete consequently leading to troubles in the exact identification. A complete revision of the group would probably reduce the nomenclature diversity, with few species containing individuals of very diverse morphological characteristics. As a result, despite its cosmopolitan distribution, it is often ignored in the ecological surveys.


Research objective:

• Molecular phylogeny of Zoantharia based on ribosomal mitochondrial genes
• Search for new phylogenetic markers in the mitochondrial genome of the mediterranean zoanthid Savalia (Gerardia) savaglia
• Identification of the relationships between some zoanthids and their host substrate

people working on this subject: Frédéric SINNIGER, Jan Wojciech PAWLOWSKI.