Quills of Confusion! Genomic insight into the evolution and morphology of sea pens (Octocorallia: Scleralcyonacea: Pennatuloidea) - UCE data files

ea pens (Superfamily Pennatuloidea) are colonial octocorals with diverse morphologies. Using genomic-scale data (Ultra-Conserved Elements) and mitochondrial mtMutS, we reconstructed their phylogenies to understand their evolutionary history. Our results show that the sea pens split into two major clades and that most families are not monophyletic, indicating a need for taxonomic revision. We also found that leaf-like colony morphology evolved independently multiple times, suggesting a complex history of morphological evolution.