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Historically isolated from tropical influences, the Mediterranean Sea underwent drastic changes, including the Lessepsian migration facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal, connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Here, we report on the discovery of a thriving and lush population of an Indo‐Pacific soft coral in the transforming Mediterranean Sea. This species was identified as Dendronephthya hemprichi (Klunzinger, 1877) through morphological and genetic assessments. The unexpected appearance of a dense population of this tropical coral off the Israeli Mediterranean coast signifies a northward range expansion of approximately 350 km from the northern Red Sea. Considering the potential for this soft coral to alter benthic community structure and create new marine animal forests, the population's sudden and massive colonization of artificial structures raises intriguing questions about its possible long‐term ecological implications in the Mediterranean ecosystem. This study emphasizes the urgency of continuous monitoring and research to understand the ecological consequences of this unprecedented abrupt tropical incursion of hundreds of colonies and its potential implications for the region's biodiversity. Moreover, the findings contribute to the broader discourse on the tropicalization of temperate and subtropical regions, highlighting the need to adapt conservation strategies that embrace and understand novel configurations of ecosystems in the face of ongoing local and global changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioluminescence is a widespread phenomenon that has evolved multiple times across the tree of life, converging among diverse fauna and habitat types. The ubiquity of bioluminescence, particularly in marine environments where it is commonly used for communication and defense, highlights the adaptive value of this trait, though the evolutionary origins and timing of emergence remain elusive for a majority of luminous organisms. Anthozoan cnidarians are a diverse group of animals with numerous bioluminescent species found throughout the world's oceans, from shallow waters to the light-limited deep sea where bioluminescence is particularly prominent. This study documents the presence of bioluminescent Anthozoa across depth and explores the diversity and evolutionary origins of bioluminescence among Octocorallia—a major anthozoan group of marine luminous organisms. Using a phylogenomic approach and ancestral state reconstruction, we provide evidence for a single origin of bioluminescence in Octocorallia and infer the age of occurrence to around the Cambrian era, approximately 540 Ma—setting a new record for the earliest timing of emergence of bioluminescence in the marine environment. Our results further suggest this trait was largely maintained in descendants of a deep-water ancestor and bioluminescent capabilities may have facilitated anthozoan diversification in the deep sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular systematic studies of the anthozoan class Octocorallia have revealed widespread incongruence between phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic classification at all levels of the Linnean hierarchy. Among the soft coral taxa in order Malacalcyonacea, the family Alcyoniidae and its type genus Alcyonium have both been recognised to be highly polyphyletic. A recent family-level revision of Octocorallia established a number of new families for genera formerly considered to belong to Alcyoniidae, but revision of Alcyonium is not yet complete. Previous molecular studies have supported the placement of Alcyonium verseveldti (Benayahu, 1982) in family Cladiellidae rather than Alcyoniidae, phylogenetically distinct from the other three genera in that family. Here we describe a new genus, Ofwegenum gen. nov. to accommodate O. verseveldti comb. nov. and three new species of that genus, O. coronalucis sp. nov., O. kloogi sp. nov., and O. colli sp. nov., bringing the total number of species in this genus to four. Ofwegenum gen. nov. is a rarely encountered genus so far known from only a few locations spanning the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. We present the morphological characters of each species and use molecular data from both DNA barcoding and target-enrichment of conserved elements to explore species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships within the genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aliena parva gen. et sp. nov. is described from Cocos Island, Costa Rica. The species was found at various islets and rocky outcrops north and northwest of the island, 20-30 m in depth. The genus is characterised by polyps, retracting into calyces, that form thin encrusting mats extending on dead or live substrates. Sclerites are mostly asymmetrical spindles. Anthocodial rods are arranged in points, not forming a collaret. Colonies and coenenchymal sclerites are red, and polyps are transparent. Using an integrative taxonomic approach, we found the new genus to morphologically and genetically differ from all other described taxa. The molecular phylogenetic analyses provide strong support for the placement of this new genus in the family Pterogorgiidae. Morphologically it is unlike any of the other members of this family, necessitating an amendment to the diagnosis of Pterogorgiidae. Like several other known taxa of octocorals with encrusting growth forms, Aliena gen. nov. appears to have evolved from a gorgonian ancestor by loss of an internal skeletal axis. It is the first member of Pterogorgiidae to be reported from the eastern Pacific, contributing further to the knowledge of marine biodiversity in the eastern tropical Pacific and to the octocoral biodiversity of Cocos Island in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]