Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 67

Molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed that many scleractinian coral species described using traditional taxonomic approaches are composed of multiple distinct genetic lineages. Resolving the taxonomy of these lineages requires an integrated approach that combines molecular phylogenies with additional lines of evidence (e.g. morphological, geographical and ecological data), alongside examination of type material. This approach is essential to determine which of these lineages represent distinct species, and in turn whether these distinct species represent nominal species that are valid, are currently considered synonyms, or are undescribed. Given that most scleractinian coral type specimens are bleached skeletons lacking tissue for molecular analysis, the key to testing the validity of nominal species is the collection of topotypes; specimens collected from the type location of the nominal species that closely match the morphology of the type material. These provide a molecular archetype of the nominal species to allow for robust molecular tests of specimen identity and species evolutionary relationships. Here, we collate information from 383 authorities, between 1758 to 2025, into a nomenclature containing the taxonomic status and type location for all nominal species of extant hermatypic Scleractinia. The nomenclature covers 2,338 nominal species and includes information such as nominal species name, species authority, year described, current status (valid, invalid, unaccepted), accepted species name and source of synonymy. Importantly, the type location was traced (to varying levels of precision) for 2,132 of these nominal species, with only 206 species type locations remaining untraceable at time of publication. The nomenclature also includes information on all 383 authorities and the 362 original texts they are contained within. This resource will facilitate the necessary taxonomic revisions to produce a workable taxonomy and provide valuable information for the wider coral reef scientific community and managers trying to confidently apply names to the distinct lineages increasingly revealed by molecular data.