| Tenellia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A live individual of Tenellia adspersa, head end towards the right | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Order: | Nudibranchia |
| Suborder: | Aeolidacea |
| Family: | Trinchesiidae |
| Genus: | Tenellia Costa, 1866 [1] |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Tenellia is a genus of sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Trinchesiidae. [2]
This was a small genus until a DNA phylogeny of the former family Tergipedidae resulted in most species of Cuthona being transferred to this genus. [3] Miller (2004) restricted the genus Cuthona (Alder & Hancock, 1855) to the type species, C. nana (Alder & Hancock, 1842), and transferred to the genus Trinchesia the rest of the species previously included in Cuthona. Miller has been followed by some authors, and has not been followed by others - and there is currently much instability on the extension and contents of these two genera. Cella et al., 2016 hypothesised that the genus Tenellia should include many former Cuthona and Trinchesia species, with others being placed in new genera. Since then, there has been much shuffling of species between genera, many species being returned from Trinchesia to Tenellia, and others being placed in several smaller genera, Catriona , Diaphoreolis , Phestilla , and Zelentia . [4]
Korshunova (2025) re-examined genetic, physical, evolutionary, and environmental characteristics of species within the suborder Aeolidacea, and proposed a massive recategorization of taxons. It was stated that the previous "lumping" of taxa together obscures the diversity and evolutionary origins of species. The extensive study proposed reversing several previous mass species reassignments between genuses, reinstating taxons that had fallen to synonymity in previous years, restricting genera, and suggesting guidelines for how to categorize species that likely belong to yet-undiscovered genera. [5]
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) has yet to update their database in accordance to the findings of Korshunova (2025). [2] As always, Wikipedia defers to the standards set in place by WoRMS, and the lists below will not update unless WoRMS does.
Species within the genus Tenellia include: [2]
Species now moved to other genera include:
Controversed species currently represented by an alternate genus include:
Species names currently considered to be synonyms include: