Corambidae

Corambidae
an undescribed Corambid, the crazed nudibranch, Corambe sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia clade Euthyneura clade Nudipleura clade Nudibranchia clade Euctenidiacea clade Doridacea
Superfamily:	Onchidoridoidea
Family:	Corambidae Bergh, 1869, 1892
Genera
See text
Synonyms
Hypobranchiaeidae Fischer, 1883 Loyinae Martynov, 1994

Corambidae is a family of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Onchidoridoidea. This family is within the clade Euctenidiacea.^[1]

Species in this family show a characteristic posterior notch in the notum (which is lacking in some taxa) and a characteristic gill morphology, especially the presence of ventral gills.

Habitat

These nudibranches occur in littoral and sublittoral temperate waters of the northern and southern hemispheres.

General description

They are mostly small (between 5 and 10 mm) and rather hard to find because they are very well camouflaged. They prey on encrusting bryozoans. Echinocorambe brattegardi is the only abyssal species in this family and is found in the deep waters of the Norwegian Sea.

Taxonomy

There are fewer than twenty species in this family. According to Angel Valdes & Philippe Bouchet (1998), the genera within the family Corambidae include ^[2]:

• Corambe Bergh, 1869 - type genus of the family Corambidae; 13 species (synonyms : Corambella, Doridella,Paracorambe, Suhinia, Quasicorambe, Neocorambe, Gulbinia)
• Echinocorambe Valdes & Bouchet, 1998 : 1 species ^[3]
  • Echinocorambe brattegardi Valdes & Bouchet, 1998
• Loy Martynov, 1994  : 3 species (synonyms : Proloy, Psammodoris)
  • Loy meyeni Martynov, 1994
  • Loy millenae Martynov, 1994
  • Loy thompsoni (Millen & Nybakken, 1991) ^[4]

References

1. ^ Bouchet, P. & Rocroi, J.-P. (2005). "Classification and Nomenclator of Gastropod Families". Malacologia 47 (1-2). 
2. ^ Angel Valdes & Philippe Bouchet (1998). "A blind abyssal Corambidae (Mollusca, Nudibranchia) from the Norwegian Sea, with a reevaluation of the systematics of the family" (^{[dead link]}). Sarsia 83: 15–20. http://www.bio.uib.no/sol/PDF/83(1)2.pdfp. 
3. ^ http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=10124
4. ^ Behrens, D.W.; Alicia Hermosillo (2005). Eastern Pacific nudibranch, a guide to the opisthobranchs from Alaska to Central America.. Monterey, California: Sea Challengers. pp. 137 pp.. 

External links

• Sea Slug Forum species list