Currently the only fossil record for the family are specimens tentatively identified as a member of the genus Radicipes from the Oligocene epoch. It was found in deep-water strata in western Washington State, USA.[citation needed]
Distribution
It is a widely distributed family being found worldwide in deep-sea environments. Most species are found in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with only a reports from the Indian Ocean. Chrysogorgiids are the most abundant family of corals on deep sea seamounts southwest of Hawaii.
Taxonomy
The following genera are recognised as members of the family Chrysogorgiidae:
There have been a number of other genera that have been previously assigned to this family. A recent taxonomic revision based on phylogenomic analysis either found them not to belong to the family or couldn't place them because there was no suitable molecular data for analysis.
Bayer, F.M. and K.M. Muzik. 1976. New genera and species of the holaxonian family Chrysogorgiidae (Octocorallia: Gorgonacea). Zoologische Mededelingen (Leiden) 50: 65–90.
Goedert, J.L., L.S. Guthrie, and S. Kiel. 2022. Octocorals (Alcyonacea and Pennatulacea) from Paleogene deep-water strata in western Washington State, USA. Journal of Paleontology 96: 539–551.
