Nudibranchs belong to the order Nudibranchia, a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs that shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to match, such as "clown", "marigold", "splendid", "dancer", "dragon", and "sea rabbit". Currently, about 3,000 valid species of nudibranchs are known.
Alcyonacea are an order of sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Whilst not in a strict taxonomic sense, Alcyonacea are commonly known as soft corals. The term "soft coral" generally applies to organisms in the two orders Pennatulacea and Alcyonacea with their polyps embedded within a fleshy mass of coenenchymal tissue. Consequently, the term "gorgonian coral" is commonly handed to multiple species in the order Alcyonacea that produce a mineralized skeletal axis composed of calcite and the proteinaceous material gorgonin only and corresponds to only one of several families within the formally accepted taxon Gorgoniidae (Scleractinia). These can be found in order Malacalcyonacea (taxonomic synonyms of include : Alcyoniina, Holaxonia, Protoalcyonaria, Scleraxonia, and Stolonifera. They are sessile colonial cnidarians that are found throughout the oceans of the world, especially in the deep sea, polar waters, tropics and subtropics. Common names for subsets of this order are sea fans and sea whips; others are similar to the sea pens of related order Pennatulacea. Individual tiny polyps form colonies that are normally erect, flattened, branching, and reminiscent of a fan. Others may be whiplike, bushy, or even encrusting. A colony can be several feet high and across, but only a few inches thick. They may be brightly coloured, often purple, red, or yellow. Photosynthetic gorgonians can be successfully kept in captive aquaria.
Tritoniidae is a taxonomic family of nudibranchs in the suborder Cladobranchia, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs. This family includes some of the largest known nudibranchs, with the NE Atlantic species Tritonia hombergii reaching 20 cm in length. It is the only family in the monotypic superfamily Tritonioidea.
Nembrotha lineolata is a species of nudibranch, a sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Polyceridae. It is found in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific. It was first described in 1905 by the Danish malacologist Rudolph Bergh. The type locality is Selayar Island, Indonesia.
Phyllodesmium briareum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Mexichromis multituberculata is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Chromodorididae.
Phyllodesmium is a genus of predatory sea slugs, aeolid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium horridum, the coral nudibranch, is a species of sea slug, specifically an aeolid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Goniobranchus fidelis, also commonly known as the faithful sea slug, is a species of colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.
Tritonicula hamnerorum is a species of dendronotid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae. A number of Caribbean species of Tritonia were moved to a new genus Tritonicula in 2020 as a result of an integrative taxonomic study of the family Tritoniidae.
Duvaucelia striata is a species of dendronotid nudibranch from the western Mediterranean. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.
Tritoniopsis is a genus of sea slugs, specifically dendronotid nudibranchs. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Tritoniidae.
Phyllodesmium hyalinum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium magnum is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Phyllodesmium pecten is a species of sea slug, an aeolid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Facelinidae.
Cladiella krempfi is a species of soft coral in the family Alcyoniidae. It is found in the western Indo-Pacific and was first described by the British zoologist Sydney John Hickson in 1919.
Carijoa riisei, the snowflake coral or branched pipe coral, is a species of soft coral in the family Clavulariidae. It was originally thought to have been native to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean and subsequently spread to other areas of the world such as Hawaii and the greater tropical Pacific, where it is regarded as an invasive species. The notion that it is native to the tropical western Atlantic was perpetuated from the fact that the type specimen, described by Duchassaing & Michelotti in 1860, was collected from the US Virgin Islands. It has subsequently been shown through molecular evidence that it is more likely that the species is in fact native to the Indo-Pacific and subsequently spread to the western tropical Atlantic most likely as a hull fouling species prior to its original description.
Phyllidiopsis pipeki is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Phyllidiidae.
Phestilla minor is a species of sea slug in the Trichechidae family. It is a type of aeolid nudibranch under the Aeolidina suborder. Phestilla minor is a benthic sea slug that is a very small, slow-moving organism found in marine habitats all over the world.
Phyllodesmium poindimiei is an Alcyonacea feeding, aeolid nudibranch Gastropod belonging to the family Facelinidae. Cerata are important in this clade in terms of their physical defense and efficient metabolic processes. This species is spread sporadically along tropical coastal regions such as Australia, Hawaii, and the Indo-Pacific living in diverse marine habitats such as coral reefs. Unlike other species in the Opisthobranch Mollusca clade, P. poindimiei’s lush pink cerata are used for defensive purposes other than Nematocyst (dinoflagellate) capture and toxin release. Organismal ties within these thriving, tropical ecosystems can be determinants of environment change, which affects massive coral ecosystems. Continuously changing marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, are directly linked to the evolution of organisms that live and thrive in the tropics such as the soft nudibrach P. poindimiei.
