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Brachycnemina

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Brachycnemina
Zoanthus colony
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Zoantharia
Suborder: Brachycnemina
Haddon & Shackleton, 1891
Families

Brachycnemina is a suborder of zoanthids in the order Zoantharia.[1] Genetic analysis has been used to suggest Brachycnemina is a monophyletic group diverging within the paraphyletic Macrocnemina.[1]

Characteristics

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Brachycnemia species habitate most environments, ranging from shallow tropical reefs to cold seeps in the deep sea. It forms large colonies on intertidal and shallow reef crests.[2] Due to the members of this suborder being loosely collected, there are no standard characteristics uniting them besides slight morphological, ecological and phylogenetic differences.[3]

Subdivisions

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This suborder counts with 3 taxonomic families, namely Neozoanthidae, which is monogeneric; Sphenopidae, which includes sand-encrusted and colonial specimens like the commonly found Palythoa and Sphenopus, itself found in a few discrete areas; and Zoanthidae, whose belonging species do not show sand encrustation.[2] A total of 6 known genera and over 163 species are comprised within the Brachycnemina.[4] Palythoa and Zoanthus are two of the most common coral genera and are intensively studied for their bioactive compounds.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sinniger, F.; Montoya-Burgos, J. I.; Chevaldonné, P.; Pawlowski, J. (2005). "Phylogeny of the order Zoantharia (Anthozoa, Hexacorallia) based on the mitochondrial ribosomal genes" (PDF). Marine Biology. 147 (5): 1121–1128. doi:10.1007/s00227-005-0016-3. ISSN 0025-3162. S2CID 83525057.
  2. ^ a b c Pandya Khushali, M.; et al. (2014). "Occurrence of Zoanthid genus Isaurus from Saurashtra coast, Gujarat, India". European Journal of Zoological Research. 3 (2): 1–5.
  3. ^ REIMER, James Davis (2010). "Key to field identification of shallow water brachycnemic zoanthids (Order Zoantharia: Suborder Brachycnemina) present in Okinawa". Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies. 12 (1): 23–29. doi:10.3755/galaxea.12.23. ISSN 1883-3969.
  4. ^ "Brachycnemina Haddon & Shackleton, 1891". GBIF.org. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2015.

Further reading

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