The genus Coris contains 28 valid species, most of them with an Indo-Pacific distribution and only two species recognized from the eastern Atlantic: Coris atlantica and C. This last species has a large variability in its coloration, which caused that during the first half of XIX century the sexes were considered as different species.
Two liveries have been described for C. In this study we demonstrate the existence of two sibling species within the C. Morphological and molecular analyses showed that this species complex is composed of two species: i C.
We also discuss the possible speciation event to understand the contemporary distribution patterns of Coris species in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. The accurate delineation of species is of paramount importance to quantify and preserve biodiversity.
However, this process is difficult when trying to tell apart closely related taxa Mayr, ; Coyne and Orr, Delineation of species is particularly acute in reef fish, whose conspicuous colors are often the only available character to distinguish taxa Randall, ; DiBattista et al.
Due to the large variability in the coloration of this species, during the first half of XIX century the two liveries were described as different species. Subsequently, in the eastern Atlantic, Julis azorensis Fowler, , was described from the Azores and again considered as a synonym of C. Later, Fowler considered C. This synonymy was revised by Roux , who listed the morphological differences between the two species and clearly stated the validity of both, but some authors kept considering C.
