''Allopathes'' is a genus of

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

s in the family

Antipathidae Antipathidae is a family of corals in the order Antipatharia, commonly known as black corals. Taxonomy This family contains the following genera according to the World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) ...

. It is characterized by several long stems protruding from a short, thick base with spines arranged vertically around the stem. Its polyps are arranged in a single row that run the length of the coral. This genus was initially a subgenus of

Cirrhipathes ''Cirrhipathes'' is a genus of black coral from the family Antipathidae. Coral species in this genus are commonly known as whip or wire corals because they often exhibit a twisted or coiled morphology. In addition to their colorful appearance, wi ...

and Stichopathes, although it also displayed similarities to '' Antipathes verticillata''. However, the presence of branched growth forms excludes it from Stichopathes or Cirrhipathes and the unique morphology of its spines meant that it could not be included in Allopathes. Because they seemed to have a combination of characteristics of different genera, the two species in question, '' Allopathes desbonni'' and '' Allopathes robillardi'' were given their own genus. The name comes from the Greek "allos-", meaning "other" and "-pathes", referring to its taxonomic relationship to other genera in

References

Antipathidae Cnidarians of the Atlantic Ocean Cnidarians of the Caribbean Sea Marine fauna of North America Marine fauna of South America Hexacorallia genera {{Hexacorallia-stub