Distribution and molecular phylogeny of the octocoral genus Nanipora (Helioporidae) in the western Pacific.

Nanipora Miyazaki & Reimer, 2015 is a recently described monotypic octocoral genus belonging to the family Helioporidae (class Octocorallia). Nanipora kamurai Miyazaki & Reimer, 2015 was formally described from shallow coral reefs around Zamami Island, within Kerama-shoto National Park, in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan. To date, Nanipora has been reported from two other locations in Japan: N. aff. kamurai from a shallow inner lagoon at Iriomotejima Island, and Nanipora cf. kamurai from the coral reef surrounding a shallow CO₂ vent at Iotorishima Island, both in Okinawa Prefecture. Additionally, Nanipora cf. kamurai has been reported from three locations outside Japan: in shallow seagrass meadows at Dongsha Atoll in the South China Sea, on coral reefs at Koh Tao in Thailand and from a reef in Toboso, central Philippines. Finally, N. kamurai has been detected in environmental DNA samples from the Rowley Shoals off northwestern Australia. As a ‘living fossil’ and also apparently common in the low pH environment of Iotorishima I., a clearer understanding of the distribution of the genus should aid in better understanding of its ecology. Here, we report three new additional records from the Ryukyu Archipelago where Nanipora colonies were found, resulting in ten total records of Nanipora. Molecular phylogenetic analyses utilizing cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), mitochondrial mismatch repair protein (mtMutS), and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) sequences of specimens from two of these new locations combined with additional sequences from previously collected specimens from Dongsha, Iotorishima, and Iriomotejima showed evidence of three closely related groups within Nanipora, warranting future investigations into the species diversity of this genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]