First record of the genus Umimayanthus from Palau and Micronesia

<jats:p>Until recently, the only sponge-associated genera in the order Zoantharia were<jats:italic>Parazoanthus</jats:italic>(family Parazoanthidae),<jats:italic>Epizoanthus</jats:italic>and<jats:italic>Thoracactis</jats:italic>(family Epizoanthidae), both within the suborder Macrocnemina. The taxonomy of the genus<jats:italic>Parazoanthus,</jats:italic>as originally described, has been undergoing revision since 2010, with several species, genera and even families described. In 2015, multiple molecular markers were used in combination with morphological characteristics to erect the genus<jats:italic>Umimayanthus</jats:italic>inside the family Parazoanthidae. It included three species described from southern Japan, with other records for some of the species from the Great Barrier Reef, New Caledonia and the Red Sea. However, little is known of its distribution in the Pacific Islands. Here we report on the finding of<jats:italic>Umimayanthus</jats:italic>specimens in Palau, Micronesia, representing the first records for this region. A total of 32 specimens of<jats:italic>Umimayanthus</jats:italic>were collected from seven different locations; eight of the specimens were identified as<jats:italic>Umimayanthus chanpuru,</jats:italic>while the remaining 24 colonies were only identified to genus level.</jats:p>