Morphological and genetic analysis of the Coolia monotis species complex with the introduction of two new species, Coolia santacroce sp. nov. and Coolia palmyrensis sp. nov. (Dinophyceae)

•We describe Coolia palmyrensis, from the Palmyra Atoll and the Dominican Republic.•We describe Coolia santacroce, from St. Croix, USVI.•Morphology and genetics distinguish these and other Coolia species.•Both species are shown to be cytotoxic in vitro.

The dinoflagellate genus Coolia Meunier is an important epi-benthic organism that is commonly found in association with other dinoflagellates known to cause ciguatera. Two closely related taxa, Coolia monotis and Coolia malayensis, make up the C. monotis species complex. In this study we introduce two new toxic species that should be included in that complex, Coolia palmyrensis Karafas, Tomas, York sp. nov. and Coolia santacroce Karafas, Tomas, York sp. nov., collected from the Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean and Saint Croix, US Virgin Islands, respectively. These two species can be distinguished morphologically by size, pore shape, pore density, and the relative size of the apical pore complex. The ITS1/5.8S/ITS2 and the D1/D2 regions of the LSU rDNA were used to provide molecular support of morphological observations using maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses. Furthermore, C. palmyrensis and C. santacroce both showed cytotoxic effects on human derived cells in vitro.