Doridoidea, commonly known as dorid

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to matc ...

s (and previously known as the taxon Cryptobranchia), are a

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

of medium to large, shell-less

sea slug Sea slug is a common name for some marine invertebrates with varying levels of resemblance to terrestrial slugs. Most creatures known as sea slugs are gastropods, i.e. they are sea snails (marine gastropod mollusks) that over evolutionary t ...

s, marine

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s in the clade

Doridacea ''Doridacea'' is a taxonomic grouping of dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod mollusks.Bouchet P. & Rocroi J.-P. (Ed.); Frýda J., Hausdorf B., Ponder W., Valdes A. & Warén A. 2005''Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families ...

, included in the clade Nudibranchia.

Etymology

The word "Doridoidea" comes from the generic name ''Doris'', which was in turn copied from the name of the sea nymph, Doris, in Greek mythology.

Families

According to the

Taxonomy of the Gastropoda (Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005) The taxonomy of the Gastropoda as it was revised in 2005 by Philippe Bouchet and Jean-Pierre Rocroi is a system for the scientific classification of gastropod mollusks. (Gastropods are a taxonomic class of animals which consists of snails and ...

, families within the superfamily Doridoidea include: *

Actinocyclidae Actinocyclidae is a family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. This family is within the clade Euctenidiacea. Taxonomy Genera within the family Actinocyclidae include: * ''Actinocyclus'' E ...

O'Donoghue, 1929 *

Chromodorididae Chromodorididae, or chromodorids, are a taxonomic family of colourful, sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously coloured of all animals.” ...

Bergh, 1891 *

Discodorididae Discodorididae is a taxonomic family of sea slugs, specifically dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea.Bouchet, P. (2011). Discodorididae. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.mari ...

Bergh, 1891 *

Dorididae Sea lemon is a loosely applied common name for a group of medium-sized to large shell-less colorful sea slugs or nudibranchs, specifically dorid nudibranchs in the taxonomic family Dorididae and other closely related families. These are marine g ...

Rafinesque, 1815

Changes later than 2005

The family Cadlinidae Bergh, 1891 was considered a synonym of the Chromodorididae. Research by R.F. Johnson in 2011 has shown that ''Cadlina'' does not belong to the family

. She has therefore brought back the name ''Cadlinidae'' from synonymy with ''Chromodorididae''. The chromodorid nudibranchs without ''Cadlina'' are now

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

and turn out to be a possible sister to the

Currently Recognized Families

O'Donoghue, 1929 *

Cadlinidae Cadlinidae is a family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea. Molecular phylogenetic studies and their taxon-sampling schemes can have a strong influence of the resulting phylogeny. Research by ...

Bergh, 1891 *

Rafinesque, 1815 File:20170126- B178508.jpg, ''

Actinocyclus verrucosus ''Actinocyclus verrucosus'' is a species of sea slug or dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Actinocyclidae. Distribution This species was described from Massawa, Eritrea, Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأ ...

'' of

File:Cadlina_luteomarginata.jpg, '' Cadlina luteomarginata'' of

File:ChromodorisGeminus.jpg, ''

Goniobranchus geminus ''Goniobranchus geminus'', also known as the gem sea slug, is a species of very colourful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chromodorididae.Bouchet, P. (2012)''Goniobranchus geminus''.Accessed through: World R ...

'' of

File:Diaulula nobilis.JPG, ''

Diaulula nobilis ''Diaulula'' is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, shell-less marine gastropod molluscs in the family Discodorididae. Species Species in the genus ''Diaulula'' include: * '' Diaulula alba'' (K. White, 1952) * '' Diaulula aurila'' (Ev. ...

'' of

File:Yellow Dorid Makeout Session (Doris montereyensis).jpg, ''

Doris montereyensis ''Doris montereyensis'' is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Dorididae. Description ''Doris montereyensis'' is similar in shape and colour to '' Anisodoris nobilis'' but instead of th ...

'' of

Synonyms

The next families are considered synonyms. But these names can still be found in many publications and on the internet. * Aldisidae Odhner, 1939 - synonym of Cadlinidae * Archidorididae Bergh, 1891 - synonym of Dorididae * Asteronotidae Thiele, 1931 - synonym of Discodorididae * Baptodorididae Odhner, 1926 - synonym of Discodorididae * Conualeviidae Collier & Farmer, 1964 - synonym of Dorididae * Geitodorididae Odhner, 1968 - synonym of Discodorididae * Halgerdidae Odhner, 1926 - synonym of Discodorididae * Homoiodorididae Bergh, 1882 -synonym of Dorididae and Dendrodorididae * Kentrodorididae Bergh, 1891 - synonym of Discodorididae * Platydorididae Bergh, 1891 - synonym of Discodorididae * Rostangidae Pruvot-Fol, 1951 - synonym of Discodorididae

Cryptobranch dorid nudibranchs

Cryptobranch dorid nudibranchs (previously known as the taxon Cryptobranchia), are

s within the clade Doridacea. These slugs are called "cryptobranch," meaning "hidden gill", because they are able to retract their

gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...

s into a gill pocket, in contrast to nudibranchs in the traditional group phanerobranchs (or Phanerobranchia), which taxon is probably

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

(in other words, composed of more than one evolutionary lineage). A. Valdés distinguishes two major

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

s within the Cryptobranchia: the dorids that have no

radula The radula (, ; plural radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by molluscs for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food ...

(the ''Porostomata''); and those with a radula (''the Labiostomata''). The Labiostomata include the

families:

and

. The cryptobranchs include the following genera that are regarded as valid:

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1132223 Nudipleura Gastropod superfamilies Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque