taxonID	type	description	language	source
6ADC2AFAB9DC5DCDB5B1CEF1B61F1C4E.taxon	description	Figs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, Table 1, Suppl. material 1	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
6ADC2AFAB9DC5DCDB5B1CEF1B61F1C4E.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. Corallum monopodial, planar, unbranched, and pinnulate to the first order. Pinnules in two anterolateral rows and arranged in subopposite (almost opposite) pairs. Lowermost pinnules on stem 8 cm or more in length, decreasing in length towards apex of colony. Spines smooth and triangular with a rounded apex, 0.05 – 0.08 mm tall. Polyps 4 – 9 mm in transverse diameter, 2 – 3 mm interpolypar space, four to eight polyps counted per 5 cm.	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
6ADC2AFAB9DC5DCDB5B1CEF1B61F1C4E.taxon	description	Description of holotype. The holotype (USNM 1689279) is a 15 cm tall monopodial colony (Fig. 3 A – C). The unpinnulated section is about 2 cm based on in situ imagery because the basal plate and lowermost section of unpinnulated stem were not collected (Fig. 3 C). The pinnulated section is 13 cm in length. Pinnules are simple, arranged in two anterolateral rows and in subopposite pairs (Fig. 3 A, B). The pinnules are curved towards the abpolypar side of the colony. The lowermost pinnules on the stem are 8.3 cm in length, pinnules midway up the pinnulated section of the stem are 8 cm in length, and the uppermost pinnules on the stem are 4.2 cm in length. Diameter of the lowermost pinnule near the base of the pinnule is ~ 1 mm. Distance between pinnules in one row ranges from 1.3 to 1.7 cm and distance between pinnules of the same pair (i. e., on opposite sides of the stem) is <1 mm, in some cases nearly opposite (Fig. 3 B). Eight pinnules can be counted per 5 cm including pinnules in both rows. The distal angle of pinnules is 80 – 90 ° except for the uppermost pinnules, which are about 45 ° (Fig. 3 A – C), and the interior angle formed by the subopposite pinnules is 160 – 180 ° (Fig. 3 A). Polyps are arranged in a single row (Fig. 3 C, D). Polyps are 8 – 9 mm in the transverse diameter with 0.2 – 0.3 mm interpolypar space, resulting in polypar density ranging from 4 to 5 per 5 cm (Fig. 3 E). Based on in situ imagery, tentacles exceed 1 cm when fully extended and the tissue color is dark red, and when preserved is dark red to dark brown. Spines (Fig. 4 A – C) are smooth and triangular with a rounded apex (Fig. 4 C) that is at right angles to the axis or slightly inclined distally, with long and sloping distal and proximal edges. Polypar and abpolypar spines are 0.03 to 0.05 mm tall. The spines on pinnules are arranged in longitudinal rows, six to seven of which can be seen in one view (Fig. 4 A, B). Spines are spaced 0.12 – 0.33 mm apart in a row, with about four to five spines per mm (Fig. 4 A, B).	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
6ADC2AFAB9DC5DCDB5B1CEF1B61F1C4E.taxon	description	Description of the paratype. The paratype (USNM 1424060) is a 14 cm tall colony (lowermost section of stem not collected) and the pinnulated section of stem is 12 cm (Fig, 5 A). Based on in situ imagery (https: // data. oceannetworks. ca / SeaTube? resourceTypeId = 1000 & resourceId = 23621 & diveId = 3000 & time = 2016 - 03 - 06 T 00: 56: 55.000 Z), the whole colony was approximated to be ~ 25 cm in length and the unpinnulated section of stem was ~ 7 cm in length. Striatum is present and distinct from the lower broken-off end of the stem to the lowermost pair of pinnules. Pinnules are simple, arranged in anterolateral rows and in subopposite pairs (Fig. 5 A). The lowermost pinnules are 2.5 and 3.0 cm long; however, based on in situ imagery (Fig. 5 B) the lowermost pinnules were the longest on the colony prior to subsampling. Pinnules midway up the pinnulated section of the stem are 8.0 cm long and the most distal pinnules are 1.3 cm long (Fig. 5 A). Diameter near the base of the pinnule is ~ 1 mm. Distance between pinnules in one row ranges from 1.2 to 1.4 cm and distance between members of the subopposite pairs is <1 mm (Fig. 5 A). In some cases, the members of a pair appear to be directly opposite to one another. Ten pinnules can be counted per 5 cm including pinnules in both rows (Fig. 5 A). Distal angle of pinnules is 80 – 90 ° and the interior angle formed between pinnules of a subopposite pair is 160 – 180 ° (Fig. 5 A). Polyps are arranged in a single row and are 4 – 6 mm in transverse diameter with an interpolypar space of 2 mm. Polypar density ranges from seven to eight per 5 cm. Based on in situ imagery, the tissue is dark red, and when preserved, it is brown to dark brown (Fig. 5 B). Spines are smooth, laterally compressed, and triangular with a rounded apex (Fig. 5 C – E). Spines are 0.03 – 0.06 mm tall. The spines on pinnules are arranged in longitudinal rows, seven to eight of which can be seen in one view (Fig. 5 C, D). Spines are spaced 0.23 – 0.36 mm apart in a row with about three to four spines per mm (Fig. 5 C, D).	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
6ADC2AFAB9DC5DCDB5B1CEF1B61F1C4E.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific name derives from the Latin “ mono ” (one) and “ pinnata ” (feathered) referring to the new species general appearance due to the distinctive lack of branches compared to the other species in the genus.	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
6ADC2AFAB9DC5DCDB5B1CEF1B61F1C4E.taxon	distribution	Distribution. Known from North Central Atlantic Ocean to North Pacific Ocean from 738 to 1604 m depth.	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
6ADC2AFAB9DC5DCDB5B1CEF1B61F1C4E.taxon	discussion	Discussion and conclusions. This study presents morphological and molecular evidence to support the description of a new species within the genus Stauropathes. Furthermore, this study provides the most speciose molecular phylogeny of the family Schizopathidae to date, including specimens representing all 13 accepted schizopathid genera, holotypes or paratypes of 20 species, five of which also represent types at the genus level, and 12 species sequenced for the first time. The new Stauropathes species, which lacks branches (like Bathypathes), required an emendation of the diagnosis of Stauropathes to include unbranched morphotypes. Additionally, the finding of one Bathypathes species in the Stauropathes clade and two Stauropathes species in the Bathypathes clade suggests they have a complicated evolutionary history, possibly driven by convergent evolution or hybridization. Speciation is complex, and the phylogenetic models used in black coral studies have relied on maximum likelihood analyses with General Time Reversible substitution model, which does not account for processes like hybridization, recombination, or site-specific variation in substitution rates (Steenwyk et al. 2023). When dealing with complicated evolutionary histories, which seems to be the case for genera in Schizopathidae (see also ‘ The Trigeneric Complex’ described in Bledsoe-Becerra et al. (2022)) a multispecies coalescent model should be used for estimating phylogenies while accounting for unresolved lineage sorting (Ramírez-Portilla and Quattrini 2023). This is an essential next step for resolving relationships at the species level for black corals.	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
33DEB4EAC7CF508B913DC18E490C9BA3.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis (emended from Opresko 2002). Corallum monopodial, unbranched or branched and pinnulate to the first order. Pinnules in two lateral or anterolateral rows and arranged in subopposite pairs. Spines smooth, triangular, and laterally compressed. Polyps 3 – 9 mm in transverse diameter.	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
33DEB4EAC7CF508B913DC18E490C9BA3.taxon	type_taxon	Type species. Stauropathes staurocrada Opresko, 2002 (by original designation).	en	Horowitz, Jeremy, Barajas, Mina, McCartin, Luke J., Vohsen, Samuel A., Herrera, Santiago (2025): Description of a new species of Stauropathes (Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from Puerto Rico. ZooKeys 1231: 331-346, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1231.136967
