Alcyoniidae

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Phylum: Cnidaria
Classis: Anthozoa
Subclassis: Alcyonaria
Ordo: Alcyonacea
Subordo: Alcyoniina

Familia: Alcyoniidae
Subfamiliae: Alcyoniinae – Anthomastinae

Overview of genera: Alcyonium – Aldersladum – Anastromvos – Anthomastus – Bathyalcyon – Bellonella – Ceratocaulon – Cladiella – Complexum – Discophyton – Elbeenus – Eleutherobia – Hedera – Heteropolypus – Inflatocalyx – Klyxum – Kotatea – Lanthanocephalus – Lobophytum – Lohowia – Malacacanthus – Minabea – Notodysiferus – Paraminabea – Protodendron – Pseudoanthomastus – Rhytisma – Sarcophyton – Sinularia – Skamnarium – phaeralcyon – Sphaerasclera – Thrombophyton – Ushanaia – Verseveldtia
Name

Alcyoniidae Lamouroux, 1812: 186 (as 'Alcyoneae')

Type genus: Alcyonium Linnaeus, 1758
References
Primary references

Lamouroux, J.V.F. 1812. Extrait d'un mémoire sur la classification des Polypiers coralligènes non entièrement pierreux. Nouveau Bulletin des Sciences, publié par la Société Philomatique de Paris 3: 181–188. BHL Reference page.

Additional references

Benayahu, Y.; McFadden, C.S. 2011: A new genus of soft coral of the family Alcyoniidae (Cnidaria, Octocorallia) with re-description of a new combination and description of a new species. ZooKeys, 84: 1–11. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.84.781
Bryce, M., Poliseno, A., Alderslade, P. & Vargas, S. 2015: Digitate and capitate soft corals (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Alcyoniidae) from Western Australia with reports on new species and new Australian geographical records. Zootaxa 3963(2): 160–200. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3963.2.2. Preview (PDF) Reference page.
Bryce, M. & Wilson, N.G. 2019. A new genus with two new capitate species of dimorphic soft corals (Octocorallia : Alcyoniidae) from north-western Australia. Invertebrate Systematics 33(1): 71-88. DOI: 10.1071/IS17051 Paywall. Reference page.
Molodtsova, T.N., 2013: Deep-sea mushroom soft corals (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea: Alcyoniidae) of the Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Marine Biology Research, 9 (5-6): 488–515. Abstract: DOI: 10.1080/17451000.2012.750427
van Ofwegen, L.P., Aurelle, D. & Sartoretto, S. 2014. A new genus of soft coral (Cnidaria, Octocorallia) from the Republic of Congo (Pointe-Noire Region). ZooKeys 462: 1–10. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.462.8533 Reference page.

Links

Alcyoniidae in the World Register of Marine Species

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Lederkorallen
日本語: ウミトサカ科

Alcyoniidae is a family of leathery or soft corals in the phylum Cnidaria.[2]
Description

A colony of leathery coral is stiff, hard and inflexible. It is composed of tiny polyps projecting from a shared leathery tissue. Members of the family may have two kinds of polyps; the autozooids have long trunks and eight tiny branched tentacles and project from the shared leathery tissue while the siphonozooids remain below the surface and pump water for the colony. They appear as tiny hollows or mounds among the taller autozooids. Different genera have different proportions of these two kinds of polyps. The autozooids only emerge when the colony is fully submerged.[2]
Distribution and habitat

Leathery corals occur globally in temperate and tropical seas. They are often pioneer reef species and are found in wave-exposed areas of reef crests, less turbid waters in lagoons, on steep slopes, under overhangs and at depths of thirty metres or even deeper.[3]
Biology
Lobophyton sp. with extended polyps

Leathery coral polyps include endosymbiotic algae called zooxanthellae. The algae undergo photosynthesis and produce sugars from sunlight. This food is shared with the host, which itself provides the algae with minerals and shelter. Periodically, the surface layer of the leathery tissue is shed. This seems to be a mechanism for ridding the colony of unwanted algal growth.[2]

In a study on the Great Barrier Reef, it was found that the population of these corals was very stable. There was little predation, low rates of growth, reproduction and mortality, few new colonies came into existence and few disappeared over a three-year period.[3]
Genera

The following genera are recognized in the family Alcyoniina:[4]

Alcyonium Linnaeus, 1758
Aldersladum Benayahu & McFadden, 2011
Anthomastus Verrill, 1878
Bathyalcyon Versluys, 1906
Bellonella Gray, 1862
Cladiella Gray, 1869
Complexum Van Ofwegen, Aurelle & Sartoretto, 2014
Dampia Alderslade, 1983
Discophyton McFadden & Hochberg, 2003
Elbeenus Alderslade, 2002
Eleutherobia Puetter, 1900
Hedera Conti-Jerpe & Freshwater, 2017
Heteropolypus Tixier-Durivault, 1964
Inflatocalyx Verseveldt & Bayer, 1988
Klyxum Alderslade, 2000
Lanthanocephalus Williams & Starmer, 2000
Lithophyton
Lobophytum Marenzeller, 1886
Lobularia Savigny
Lohowia Alderslade, 2003
Malacacanthus Thomson, 1910
Minabea Utinomi, 1957
Notodysiferus Alderslade, 2003
Paraminabea Williams & Alderslade, 1999
Parerythropodium Kuekenthal, 1916
Protodendron Thomson & Dean, 1931
Pseudoanthomastus Tixier-Durivault & d'Hondt, 1974
Rhytisma Alderslade, 2000
Sarcophyton Lesson, 1834
Sinularia May, 1898
Skamnarium Alderslade, 2000
Sphaeralcyon Lopez-Gonzalez & Gili, 2005
Sphaerasclera McFadden & van Ofwegen, 2013
Thrombophyton
Verseveldtia Williams, 1990