Leptogorgia ignita, a new shallow-water coral species (Octocorallia: Gorgoniidae) from the tropical eastern Pacific

Abstract

Leptogorgia ignita is a new gorgonian species characterized by its conspicuous bright orange colour, irregular branching pattern and combination of sclerite types in the coenenchyme, all of the same orange colour, with abundance of capstans and blunt spindles, and less abundant acute spindles. The species was found in a shallow water coral community, 4-12 m deep in Samara Bay, Pacific Costa Rica. Morphologically, L. ignita belongs to the L. rigida-group comprising eight species for the group; 13 Leptogorgia species are known for Costa Rica, and 23 for the entire eastern Pacific. The new species is described, illustrated and compared to the other valid taxa of the group.