Alcyoniina
Suborder of soft coral
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The suborder Alcyoniina (in some systems classified as the order Alcyonacea in the narrowest sense) is a former octocoralian taxon belonging to the broadly conceived order Alcyonacea.[1][2][3][4]
| Alcyoniina | |
|---|---|
| |
| Sarcophyton in Flynn Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef, near Cairns, Queensland, Australia. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Subphylum: | Anthozoa |
| Class: | Octocorallia |
| Order: | Alcyonacea |
| Suborder: | Alcyoniina Lamouroux, 1816 |
Since a 2022 revision, almost all the families of former Alcyoniina belong to the order Malacalcyonacea, within which, however, they do not form a monophyletic taxon. Only the problematic (see below) Alcyoniinan family Parasphaerascleridae now belongs to the order Scleralcyonacea.[4]
Members of Alcyoniina are found mainly in the Pacific and Indian oceans.[citation needed]
Families
The World Register of Marine Species listed the following families in the suborder Alcyoniina in October 2022:[5]
- family Acrophytidae McFadden & van Ofwegen, 2017
- family Alcyoniidae Lamouroux, 1812
- family Aquaumbridae Breedy, van Ofwegen & Vargas, 2012
- family Corymbophytidae McFadden & van Ofwegen, 2017
- family Leptophytidae McFadden & van Ofwegen, 2017
- family Nephtheidae Gray, 1862
- family Nidaliidae Gray, 1869
- family Paralcyoniidae Gray, 1869
- family Xeniidae Ehrenberg, 1828
The family Parasphaerascleridae was sometimes also included in the suborder.[4][1] Alternatively, it was classified as incertae sedis within Alcyonacea.[6]
