A genetic analysis of the most widespread reef coral in the Indo-Pacific revealed that rather than being a single species (Pachyseris speciosa), it is actually four distinct species of coral, researchers report in Current Biology. The results suggest other corals thought to be a single species may be more diverse than researchers realized, and understanding which coral species foster biodiversity and how those corals behave is vital to taking care of them, reports ScienceNews. In the lab, coral samples looked identical, and their internal structures were indistinguishable in scanning electron microscope images. Yet, their genomes — their full genetic instruction books — revealed the corals had diverged millions of years ago.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coral-genetic-biodiversity-lifestyles-reef-ocean
