Nymphonidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

sea spider Sea spiders are marine arthropods of the order Pantopoda ( ‘all feet’), belonging to the class Pycnogonida, hence they are also called pycnogonids (; named after ''Pycnogonum'', the type genus; with the suffix '). They are cosmopolitan, fou ...

s which has representatives in all the oceans. This family contains some 250 species, most of which are found in the genus ''

Nymphon ''Nymphon'' is a genus of sea spiders in the family Nymphonidae. The species of sea spiders within the genus ''Nymphon'' are all benthic organisms and are found in abyssal and bathyal areas of the ocean. This is a fully marine group and can be fo ...

''. Nymphonid bodies are between 1 and 15 mm long, the extent between the points of the legs reaching 150 mm. Most species are predators of

hydroids Hydroids are a life stage for most animals of the class Hydrozoa, small predators related to jellyfish. Some hydroids such as the freshwater '' Hydra'' are solitary, with the polyp attached directly to the substrate. When these produce buds ...

. Like most sea spiders, all species in this family have four pairs of legs, except for ''Pentanymphon antarcticum'', which has five pairs, and ''Sexanymphon mirabilis'', which has six pairs.

Taxonomy

Seven genera are currently recognized:Bamber, R.N., El Nagar, A. & Staples, D. (Eds) (2014). Pycnobase: World Pycnogonida Database. Accessed at http://www.marinespecies.org/pycnobase on 2014-10-30 * '' Boreonymphon'' Sars, 1888 (4 species) * '' Bradypallene'' Kim & Hong, 1987 (1 species) * '' Heteronymphon'' Gordon, 1932 (8 species) * '' Neonymphon'' Stock, 1955 (1 species) * ''

'' Fabricius, 1794 (> 250 species) * '' Pentanymphon'' Hodgson, 1904 (1 species) * '' Sexanymphon'' Hedgpeth & Fry, 1964 (1 species)

Selected species

*'' Nymphon gracile'' Leach, 1814 *'' Nymphon brevirostre'' Hodge, 1863 *'' Nymphon hirtum'' Kroyer, 1844

References

Pycnogonids Chelicerate families {{Chelicerata-stub