Family
Myrrhinid nudibranchs
Myrrhinidae
- Species in the gallery
- 13
- Genera
- 1
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Description
Myrrhinidae is a family of aeolid nudibranchs in the superfamily Aeolidioidea (suborder Cladobranchia), resurrected after DNA studies showed the old Facelinidae to be polyphyletic. WoRMS lists six genera: Dondice, Godiva, Hermissenda, Nanuca, Nemesignis and Phyllodesmium, the last being by far the largest, with more than 30 species. Members live in many regions; Phyllodesmium is mainly Indo-West Pacific, Hermissenda is North Pacific, and Nemesignis banyulensis occurs in the Mediterranean. Many Phyllodesmium species eat soft corals and keep the coral's symbiotic zooxanthellae alive in their tissues, gaining energy from photosynthesis.
Identification
Myrrhinids look like typical facelinid-style aeolids: an elongate body, long oral tentacles, pointed foot corners and numerous cerata in clusters or arches along the back. Phyllodesmium is the most distinctive genus, with often flattened, translucent cerata that may mimic soft-coral polyps and with no cnidosacs at the ceratal tips. In the field members are best recognised at genus level, because they are not easily separated externally from Facelinidae.
Genera
13 species
Sources (4)
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