Three new species of the sea fan genus Leptogorgia (Octocorallia, Gorgoniidae) from the Gulf of California, Mexico

Abstract

Abstract Three new sea fan species of Leptogorgia were discovered during multiple scuba diving expeditions along the Gulf of California coast and islands. Leptogorgia iridissp. nov. is distributed in the southern region of the gulf (Mexican Province), inhabiting tropical rocky reefs of the Islas Marías Archipelago (Nayarit) and Bahía Banderas (Jalisco). This species has small colonies (< 7 cm height) with at least five clearly distinct chromotypes. Leptogorgia martirensissp. nov. was found exclusively on the rocky reefs of San Pedro Mártir and San Esteban Islands located in the northern region of the Gulf of California (northern region of Cortez Province). Leptogorgia enricisp. nov. is distributed from the south to the northern region of the Gulf of California (Cortez Province), inhabiting substrates of rocky reefs, sandy and pebbly sea floors. Comprehensive ecological diving expeditions to identify and classify octocorals in the Mexican Pacific (1995–2019) indicate that L. iridissp. nov. and L. martirensissp. nov. are likely to be micro-endemics and L. enricisp. nov. is endemic to the Gulf of California, which defines their currently known biogeographic distribution ranges.