Alcyoniina
| 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: | Lamouroux, 1816 |
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]
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.
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]
References
- ^ a b Australia, Atlas of Living. "Suborder: ALCYONIINA". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ McFadden, Catherine S.; Ofwegen, Leen P. VAN (2017-12-12). "Revisionary systematics of the endemic soft coral fauna (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea: Alcyoniina) of the Agulhas Bioregion, South Africa". Zootaxa. 4363 (4): 451–488–451–488. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4363.4.1. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 29245386. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
- ^ "Subclass Alcyonaria". inverts.wallawalla.edu.
- ^ a b c McFadden, C.S.; van Ofwegen, L.P.; Quattrini, A.M. (2022). Revisionary systematics of Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) guided by phylogenomics. Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists. 1(3), 8735, pp. 1-79
- ^ "Alcyoniina". World Register of Marine Species. 2025-08-06. Archived from the original on 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ^ "Parasphaerascleridae McFadden & van Ofwegen, 2013". World Register of Marine Species. 2025-08-06. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2025-08-06.