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It can be challenging to identify scleractinian corals from the genus  Pocillopora  Lamarck 1816 in the field because of their large range of inter- and intra-specific morphological variation that co-occur with changes in the physical environment. This task is made more arduous in the context of a depth gradient, where light and water current could greatly affect the morphology of the corallum.  Pocillopora verrucosa  (Ellis & Solander 1786) in Taiwan was previously reported exclusively from shallow waters (<10 m in depth), but a recent observation of this species in the mesophotic zone (>40 m in depth) questions this bathymetric distribution. We used the mitochondrial open reading frame and the histone 3 molecular markers to investigate the vertical and horizontal spatial distribution of  P. verrucosa  around Ludao (Green Island), Taiwan. We genotyped 101  P. verrucosa -like colonies collected from four depth zones, ranging from 7 to 45 m, at three sites around the island. Of the 101 colonies sampled, 85 were genotyped as  P. verrucosa , 15 as  P. meandrina,  and one specimen as an undescribed  Pocillopora  species.  P. verrucosa  was found at all depths, while  P. meandrina  and the undescribed  Pocillopora  specimen were limited to 15 m depth.  P. verrucosa  has a large bathymetric distribution around Ludao and could benefit from the refuge that the mesophotic zone offers. This study illustrates the difficulty of identifying  Pocillopora  corals in the field and emphasizes the relevance of molecular taxonomy as an important and complementary tool to traditional taxonomy for clarifying vertical and horizontal species distribution. Our results also illustrate the need in conservation biology to target species genetic diversity rather than just species diversity.

Molecular assessment ofPocillopora verrucosa(Scleractinia; Pocilloporidae) distribution along a depth gradient in Ludao, Taiwan