Modern systematics integrating molecular and morphological data has greatly improved our understanding of coral evolutionary relationships during the last two decades and led to a deeply revised taxonomy of the order Scleractinia. The family Merulinidae (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) was recently subjected to a series of revisions following this integrated approach but the phylogenetic affinities of several genera ascribed to it remain unknown. Here, we partially fill this gap through the study of 89 specimens belonging to all 10 valid species from four genera (Caulastraea, Erythrastrea, Oulophyllia and Dipsastraea) collected from 14 localities across the Indo-Pacific realm. Four molecular loci (histone H3, COI, ITS and IGR) were sequenced, and a total of 44 skeletal morphological characters (macromorphology, micromorphology and microstructure) were analysed. Molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the phaceloid Caulastraea species are split into two distinct lineages. A species previously ascribed to the genus Dipsastraea, Dipsastraea maxima, is also recovered in one on these lineages. Furthermore, Erythrastrea is nested within Oulophyllia. The molecular reconstructions of evolutionary relationships are further corroborated by multiscale morphological evidence. To resolve the taxonomy of these genera, Astraeosmilia is resurrected to accommodate Astraeosmilia connata, Astraeosmilia curvata, Astraeosmilia tumida and Astraeosmilia maxima, with Caulastraea retaining Caulastraea furcata and Caulastraea echinulata. Based on the examination of type material, Erythrastrea flabellata is considered an objective synonym of Lobophyllia wellsi, which is transferred to Oulophyllia following the obtained morpho-molecular results. This work further confirms that an integrated morpho-molecular approach based on a rigorous phylogenetic framework is fundamental for an objective classification that reflects the evolutionary history of scleractinian corals.

中文翻译：

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石珊瑚属 Caulastraea、Erythrastrea 和 Oulophyllia 的综合系统学

在过去的二十年里，整合分子和形态数据的现代系统学极大地提高了我们对珊瑚进化关系的理解，并导致对石珊瑚目的分类进行了深度修订。Merulinidae（刺胞动物：Scleractinia）最近根据这种综合方法进行了一系列修订，但归于它的几个属的系统发育亲缘关系仍然未知。在这里，我们部分从四个属（填充通过的89个标本属于所有10种有效的研究这个差距Caulastraea，Erythrastrea，Oulophyllia和Dipsastraea) 收集自印度洋-太平洋地区的 14 个地点。对四个分子位点（组蛋白 H3、COI、ITS 和 IGR）进行测序，分析了总共 44 个骨骼形态特征（宏观形态学、微观形态学和微观结构）。分子系统发育分析显示 phaceloid Caulastraea物种分为两个不同的谱系。此前冲高属甲种Dipsastraea，Dipsastraea最大值，也恢复在一个这些谱系。此外，Erythrastrea嵌套在Oulophyllia 中。多尺度形态学证据进一步证实了进化关系的分子重建。为了解决这些属的分类问题，Astraeosmilia复活容纳Astraeosmilia connata，Astraeosmilia curvata，Astraeosmilia tumida和Astraeosmilia最大值，与Caulastraea保持Caulastraea furcata和Caulastraea 刺孢小克。根据型材检查，Erythrastrea flabellata被认为是Lobophyllia wellsi的客观同义词，转移到Oulophyllia根据获得的形态分子结果。这项工作进一步证实，基于严格的系统发育框架的综合形态分子方法是客观分类的基础，该分类反映了石珊瑚的进化历史。