Black Corals (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from the Southwestern Atlantic Author Lima, Manuela M. Author Cordeiro, Ralf T. S. Author Perez, Carlos D. text Zootaxa 2019 2019-11-05 4692 1 1 67 journal article 24975 10.11646/zootaxa.4692.1.1 ead7ec31-b9d4-49f3-a006-a67fff6ad623 1175-5326 3528942 F054DC68-6A7E-4C80-9094-8ECCA4502CD6 Genus Parantipathes Brook, 1889 Type-species. Antipathes larix Esper, 1790 (by original designation). Diagnosis. “Corallum monopodial to very sparsely branched, stem and branches pinnulate. Pinnules simple, arranged in six or more rows, and in alternating groups of three or more on either side of the axis. Spines simple, triangular, compressed. Polyps 1.6–2.5 mm in transverse diameter (rarely larger)” ( Opresko, 2002 ). Remarks . Brook (1889) described the genus Parantipathes based primarily on polyp features of P . larix , such as the transverse length four times that of the sagittal axis, in addition to long, slender tentacles. In relation to the morphology of the colony, the author highlights only the presence of rare branches. There are now nine nominal species of Parantipathes (see Molodtsova 2006 , Opresko, 2015 ), and all but one of them has a corallum that is monopodial or only sparsely branched. The only species with a dense ramification pattern is Parantipathes wolffi Pasternak, 1997 , with ramifications up to the fifth order ( Molodtsova & Pasternak, 2005 ). Distribution. Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic, southwest Pacific ( Opresko, 2002 ) and north Pacific ( Molodtsova & Pasternak, 2005 ).