Members of Scleraxonia Studer, 1887 are one of the most dominant megafaunal taxa on seamounts, but their diversity and spatial distribution are poorly known in the tropical Western Pacific. Among this group, the family Victorgorgiidae Moore et al., 2017 is typically characterized by josephinae clubs in their polyp tentacles and a remarkable purple color but remains one of the most poorly known scleraxonian taxa currently. Victorgorgiidae contains only the genus Victorgorgia López-González and Briand, 2002 and six species. Here we describe three new species of Victorgorgia, V. fasciculata sp. nov., V. iocasica sp. nov., V. flabellata sp. nov., and re-describe V. eminens Moore et al., 2017, based on samples collected from four seamounts in the tropical Western Pacific, and evaluate their phylogenetic position using sequence data of mtMutS and COI genes. These new species are distinguished from each other and congeners by the sclerite forms and sizes, colony characters and polyp arrangement, and particularly the sclerites in the polyps and medulla are found to be most informative. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that V. flabellata sp. nov. is the sister group of V. iocasica sp. nov., and V. eminens Moore et al., 2017 showed a close relationship with Victorgorgia sp. GU563313. However, genetic divergence at the species level was found to be inadequate for differentiation of some close species. Each of the four species was found only from a single seamount, suggesting limited biological connectivity among the four seamount gorgoniians. Our study increases our understanding of the species diversity of Victorgorgiidae, and highlights the need for further research on the diversity and zoogeography of the deep-sea gorgonians. V. fasciculata sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 6CDEECC5-B96D-4DDF-95D2-32BEC3DBC938. V. iocasica sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: BB11D217-C298-401F-8E13-849C33B03905. V. flabellata sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 2C0FCCF2-33B1-4C2D-AC8E-6737079422F4. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: 39AF43F8-C0C2-4670-BBA0-DC1A7F1FA01B.

中文翻译：

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热带西太平洋海山深海紫柳珊瑚（Octocorallia：Victorgorgiidae）的形态学和分子系统发育分析，以及三个新物种的描述

Scleraxonia Studer, 1887 的成员是海山上最主要的巨型动物类群之一，但它们的多样性和空间分布在热带西太平洋知之甚少。在这个群体中，Victorgorgiidae Moore 等，2017 家族的典型特征是它们的息肉触手中有 josephinae 俱乐部和显着的紫色，但仍然是目前最鲜为人知的巩膜类群之一。Victorgorgiidae 仅包含 Victorgorgia López-González 和 Briand, 2002 属和六个物种。在这里，我们描述了 Victorgorgia、V. fasciculata sp. 的三个新物种。nov., V. iocasica sp. nov., V. flabellata sp. 11 月，并根据从热带西太平洋的四个海山收集的样本重新描述了 V. eminens Moore 等人，2017 年，并使用 mtMutS 和 COI 基因的序列数据评估它们的系统发育位置。这些新物种通过硬骨的形式和大小、菌落特征和息肉排列来区分彼此和同类，特别是发现息肉和髓质中的硬骨是最有信息量的。系统发育分析表明 V. flabellata sp。十一月 是 V. iocasica sp. 的姐妹群。nov., and V. eminens Moore et al., 2017 显示与 Victorgorgia sp. 的密切关系。GU563313。然而，发现物种水平的遗传差异不足以区分一些近亲物种。这四个物种中的每一个都仅从一个海山中发现，这表明四个海山柳珊瑚之间的生物联系有限。我们的研究增加了我们对 Victorgorgiidae 物种多样性的理解，并强调了进一步研究深海柳珊瑚的多样性和动物地理学的必要性。V. fasciculata sp. 十一月 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 6CDEECC5-B96D-4DDF-95D2-32BEC3DBC938。V. iocasica sp. 十一月 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: BB11D217-C298-401F-8E13-849C33B03905。V.flabellata sp. 十一月 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 2C0FCCF2-33B1-4C2D-AC8E-6737079422F4。urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: 39AF43F8-C0C2-4670-BBA0-DC1A7F1FA01B。2C0FCCF2-33B1-4C2D-AC8E-6737079422F4。urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: 39AF43F8-C0C2-4670-BBA0-DC1A7F1FA01B。2C0FCCF2-33B1-4C2D-AC8E-6737079422F4。urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: 39AF43F8-C0C2-4670-BBA0-DC1A7F1FA01B。