A New Distichopora Species (Cnidaria: Stylasteridae) from the Mesophotic Zone of Palau1

摘要: Stylasterid corals are widely distributed in all oceans from the intertidal zone to deep sea. They habitat-forming species, reaching high densities and establishing a wide range of associations with other taxa. In last decades, many new deep-water stylasterids have been described faunas several regions globe revised; however, tropical Pacific Ocean remains relatively understudied. this paper, mesophotic species Distichopora, D. cryptostylus, is Republic Palau, Caroline Islands. The Distichopora distinguished congenerics by its uniquely shaped coenosteal pores, paucity dactylostyles, apical dactylotomes.