Family
phyllidiid nudibranchs
Phyllidiidae
- Species in the gallery
- 29
- Genera
- 4
Back to superfamily Phyllidioid dorid nudibranchsBack to sub-order Dorid nudibranchsBack to order NudibranchsBack to the gallery
Description
Phyllidiidae is a family of dorid nudibranchs (superfamily Phyllidioidea, suborder Doridina) with five genera: Phyllidia, Phyllidiella, Phyllidiopsis, Reticulidia and Ceratophyllidia. It is most diverse on coral reefs of the Indo-West Pacific, including the Red Sea, where phyllidiids are among the most frequently seen nudibranchs, with a few species elsewhere such as Phyllidia flava in the Mediterranean. They lack a radula and feed on sponges by everting the pharynx and digesting the tissue externally. Their skin contains distasteful compounds, often derived from sponges, that deter predators.
Articles
Identification
Phyllidiids have a firm, leathery, almost rigid mantle covered in tubercles or ridges, usually in bold combinations of black, white, blue, yellow or pink. There is no gill cluster on the back: the gills are rows of leaflets hidden in the groove between the mantle and the foot. Only the lamellate rhinophores, which retract into pockets, protrude from the top, so the lack of visible dorsal gills plus the hard tuberculate mantle quickly separates them from other reef dorids.
Genera
29 species
Phyllidia alyta
Phyllidia alyta
Phyllidia carlsonhoffi
Phyllidia carlsonhoffi
Phyllidia coelestis
Phyllidia coelestis
Phyllidia coelestis
Phyllidia coelestis
Phyllidia coelestis
Phyllidia elegans
Phyllidia elegans
Phyllidia multifaria
Phyllidia multifaria
Phyllidia ocellata
Phyllidia ocellata
Phyllidia ocellata
Phyllidia ocellata
Phyllidia picta
Phyllidia picta
Phyllidia rueppelii
Phyllidia schupporum
Phyllidia sp. A
Phyllidia undula
Phyllidia varicosa
Phyllidia varicosa
Phyllidia varicosa
Phyllidia varicosa
Phyllidia varicosa
Phyllidiella annulata
Phyllidiella granulata
Phyllidiella granulata
Phyllidiella granulata
Phyllidiella granulata
Phyllidiella hageni
Phyllidiella lizae
Phyllidiella lizae
Phyllidiella nigra
Phyllidiella nigra
Phyllidiella nigra
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Phyllidiella rosans
Phyllidiella sp. B
Phyllidiella sp. A
Phyllidiella sp. 2
Phyllidiella zeylanica
Phyllidiopsis annae
Phyllidiopsis fissurata
Phyllidiopsis krempfi
Phyllidiopsis shireenae
Phyllidiopsis shireenae
Phyllidiopsis shireenae
Phyllidiopsis sinaiensis
Phyllidiopsis striata
Reticulidia halgerda
Sources (3)
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