On June 25th, 2021, one of the preeminent octocoral taxonomists, Dr. Leen P. van Ofwegen of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, passed away. Though his name may not be immediately familiar to the average aquarist or diver, his impact on our understanding of octocoral classification and evolution was immeasurable. Leen was prolific, publishing hundreds of papers in his lifetime and collaborating with every major octocoral taxonomist, while ultimately describing over 250 taxa and serving as the octocoral editor for the authoritative biodiversity database World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).
His most recent contribution was the reclassification of a common aquarium xeniid, now known asUnomia elongata, which follows upon a 2018 study that establishedConglomeratusclera和Caementabunda, all of which is part of an ongoing effort to revise the problematic genusCespitularia. Leen also has an obscure xeniid named after him,Fasciclia ofwegeni, described from shallow reefs in the Seychelles—it resembles a mix ofAnthelia和Xenia西南印度洋可能是特有的,但似乎从未在野外拍摄过。
Leen’s taxonomic efforts covered a wide variety of soft corals and gorgonians, much of which was focussed on the Indo-Pacific fauna. Over the course of nearly three decades, he regularly returned toSinularia, authoring a remarkable 48 new species, to go along with several more inSarcophyton和克拉迪拉. But arguably his greatest contribution can be found amongst the nephtheids, a diverse family whose troubled classification was radically reinterpreted over a series of monumental papers.
在2016年,分子和形态数据的结合被用来同义NephtheaintoLitophyton,增加了一个明确的群体,该小组的分类已在几个世纪的混乱中陷入困境。随后是较早的论文,该论文拆分了Nephthea进入一个新属,Chromonephthea,以其许多物种中充满活力的硬化岩的名字命名 - 尽管在礁石上相对罕见,并且在很大程度上没有水族馆贸易,Chromonephtheaincludes some of the most beautiful soft corals.
对于那些喜欢Gorgonians(谁不喜欢的人)的人,莱恩(Leen)合着了一位出色的初学者友好的向导,涵盖了浅印度 - 太平洋动物群岛,这是freely available as a pdf. This is an invaluable reference and one which I relied heavily upon when researching gorgonians for my own coral guide. Leen was always happy to share his octocoral knowledge with anyone who asked and over the years was kind enough to help me with many identifications, as well as providing a few photos of uncommon species for my book, for which I am eternally grateful.
In remembrance of Leen’s many taxonomic accomplishments, let’s take a quick look at some of the corals he worked on:
This article was a guest contribution from Joe Rowlett