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Brachycnemina
Suborder of cnidarians From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
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Characteristics
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
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]
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References
Further reading
External links
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