Black corals (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from the deep (916 m2542 m) Coral Sea, north-eastern Australia

Twenty one specimens collected on CIDARIS expeditions IIII between 1986 and 1992, housed in the collections of the Museum of Tropical Queensland (MTQ) were examined and identified to the species level based on corallum and skeletal spine attributes as defined in the literature. The 21 specimens examined represented five nominal species (Bathypathes patula, Schizopathes affinis, Abyssopathes lyriformis, Parantipathes cf. hirondelle, and Heteropathes cf. americana) from five genera and two families. All five species represented new species ranges for the western Coral Sea. The occurrences of these species expand their known geographic ranges from 1,000 km to > 15,000 km, and the known bathymetric ranges for some species by up to ~1,000 m

1986年至1992年间由CIDARIS第四次科考航次（CIDARIS Expeditions IIII）采集的21份标本，现保存于昆士兰热带博物馆（Museum of Tropical Queensland, MTQ）馆藏中。本研究依据文献中定义的珊瑚体（corallum）与骨骼棘突（skeletal spine）特征，对上述标本进行检视并鉴定至物种水平。本次检视的21份标本隶属于2个科、5个属，共计5个命名种：宽阔深角珊瑚（*Bathypathes patula*）、近缘裂角珊瑚（*Schizopathes affinis*）、琴形深渊角珊瑚（*Abyssopathes lyriformis*）、希龙德副黑角珊瑚（*Parantipathes cf. hirondelle*）以及美洲异角珊瑚（*Heteropathes cf. americana*）。上述5个物种均为西珊瑚海的首次记录物种。此次发现将这些物种的已知地理分布范围从1000公里拓展至15000公里以上，部分物种的已知栖息水深范围亦扩大了约1000米。