Three new species of the sea fan genus Leptogorgia (Octocorallia, Gorgoniidae) from the Gulf of California, Mexico Author Hernandez, Osvaldo Departamento de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur, Carretera al sur km 5.5, CP 23080, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico & Departamento de Plancton y Ecologia Marina, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Av. IPN, s / n, CP 23096, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico Author Gomez-Gutierrez, Jaime Departamento de Plancton y Ecologia Marina, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Av. IPN, s / n, CP 23096, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico Author Sanchez, Carlos https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7199-1268 Departamento de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur, Carretera al sur km 5.5, CP 23080, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico csanchez@uabcs.mx text ZooKeys 2021 2021-02-12 1017 1 20 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1017.50619 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1017.50619 1313-2970-1017-1 D6C509102C7A46059FAEB3E25FE48C8A 24D307470678503FA8737A34FDC87114 Leptogorgia martirensis sp. nov. Figures 1 , 4 , 5 , 8C, D Material examined. Holotype . NMNH-1638556: dry, Cueva Refugio, San Pedro Martir Island, Sonora, Mexico ( 28°22.297'N , - 112°19.040'W ), 1 m depth, 16 July 2010, collector Carlos Sanchez . Paratypes . NMNH-1638557: dry, Cueva Refugio, San Pedro Martir Island, Sonora, Mexico ( 28°22.297'N , - 112°19.040'W ), 1 m depth, 16 July 2010, collector Carlos Sanchez ; NMNH-1638558: dry, Cueva Refugio, San Pedro Martir Island, Sonora, Mexico ( 28°22.297'N , - 112°19.040'W ), 1 m depth, July 16, 2010, collector Carlos Sanchez ; NMNH-1638559: San Pedro Martir Island, Sonora, Mexico ( 28°22.818'N , - 112°18.4422'W ), 20 m depth, 16 July 2010, collector Carlos Sanchez . Figure 4. Leptogorgia martirensis sp. nov. A holotype NMNH-1638556 B anthocodial and coenenchymal sclerites. Type locality. Cueva Refugio, San Pedro Martir Island, Sonora, Mexico is one of the furthest offshore islands in the Gulf of California (part of midriff islands at the upper Gulf) where volcanic rocky reefs predominate. San Pedro Martir Island is a UNESCO "Islas del Golfo de California" Biosphere Reserve (Fig. 1 ). Holotype colony description. A yellow colony with bushy and dense growth with multiple and irregular brownish lines (Fig. 4A ). The colony is 6.1 cm in length and 8.1 cm in width. The holdfast is irregular, 14 mm x 11 mm from which the short main stem rises (2 mm length, 4 mm diameter). The colony has four main branches up to 11 mm length and 3 mm diameter. The main branches subdivide into multiple secondary branches (up to 31 mm length, 2 mm diameter). Terminal twigs are flat and short (12 mm length, 2 mm width) with acute ends. The general pattern of upward ramification is lateral at 45° angle. Polyp mounds are oval and prominent, forming one or two rows at each side of the branches with 0.5 mm height, 2 mm length, and 1 mm width with elongated calyces. The colony has several specimens of unidentified dried ophiuroids (<2 mm oral disc diameter) attached to the branches (Fig. 4A ). Holotype sclerites. The coenenchymal sclerites are exclusively capstans (Figs 4B , 5A ). There is no evidence of other types of sclerites being present in any other section of the colony. The capstans reach 0.05 mm long and 0.03 mm wide (Fig. 5A ), their color is pale yellow, pink, red or bicolor yellow-red, but the predominant color is pale yellow (90%). The anthocodial sclerites are lobed rods with acute or blunt ends up to 0.1 mm length and 0.03 mm width in the center (Fig. 5B, C ). They are bicolor white-red, red, orange or white. The red chromotype is predominant (70% of observed colonies) (Fig. 4B ). Figure 5. Leptogorgia martirensis sp. nov., Scanning Electron Microscopy images of coenenchymal sclerites from the holotype NMNH-1638556 A capstans B rod lateral view C anthocodial rod sclerites. Morphological variations. Leptogorgia martirensis sp. nov. colonies show three chromotypes: purple, yellow and brown (Figs 4A , 8C, D ). The colony color depends on the proportion of the dominant color of the coenenchymal sclerites, but in a few cases the colonies show a brown chromotype when the color proportion of sclerites is approximately 50% purple and 50% yellow. Diagnosis. The colony growth, size and polyp mounds of Leptogorgia martirensis sp. nov. are similar to those of Leptogorgia aequatorialis Bielschowsky, 1929, Leptogorgia obscura and Leptogorgia parva . However, these three species each have only one chromotype (purple, pink, and orange, respectively), and all these species have spindles in their coenenchyme up to 0.1 mm length, while L. martirensis sp. nov. has three chromotypes and no spindles in the coenenchyme. Habitat and distribution. The micro-endemic Leptogorgia martirensis sp. nov. is only recorded in rocky shallow waters (up to 10 m depth), and low abundance, at San Pedro Martir and San Esteban Islands, Sonora. The islands are located in the northern Gulf of California (as part of the Cortez Province according to Brusca and Wallerstein 1979 , Hasting 2000 ), and are the most isolated islands in the gulf (Fig. 1 ). The Cortez Province is associated with the lowest winter sea superficial temperature (SST 15 °C), the widest annual range of SST (15-30 °C), high marine productivity, and harbor a unique macroinvertebrate community, dominated by endemic octocorals of the genus Muricea ( Ulate et al. 2016 ). Leptogorgia martirensis sp. nov. shares its habitat with Muricea austera Verrill, 1869, Muricea plantaginea (Valenciennes, 1846), Muricea spp., Psammogorgia teres Verrill, 1868, and Eugorgia excelsa Verrill, 1868. Etymology. Leptogorgia martirensis sp. nov. takes its name from the collection site San Pedro Martir Island.