Ceratosomatidae Gray, 1857 (Under Art. 23.9, declared nomen oblitum by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005)
Doriprismaticinae H. Adams & A. Adams, 1858 (Under Art. 23.9, declared nomen oblitum by Bouchet & Rocroi, 2005[2])
Glossodorididae O'Donoghue, 1924
Lissodoridinae Odhner, 1968
Miamiridae Bergh, 1891
Thorunninae Odhner, 1926
Chromodorididae, or chromodorids, are a taxonomicfamily of colourful sea slugs; dorid nudibranchs, marinegastropodmollusks in the superfamily Doridoidea.[2] “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously coloured of all animals.”[3] The over 360 described species are primarily found in tropical and subtropical waters, as members of coral reef communities, specifically associated with their sponge prey. The chromodorids are the most speciose family of opisthobranchs.[4] They range in size from <10mm to over 30 cm, although most species are approximately 15–30 mm in size.[5][1]
The family Cadlinidae Bergh, 1891 has been considered a synonym of the Chromodorididae.[7] Research by R.F. Johnson in 2011 [8] has shown that Cadlina does not belong to the family Chromodorididae. She has therefore brought back the name Cadlinidae from synonymy with Chromodorididae. The chromodorid nudibranchs without Cadlina are now monophyletic and turn out to be a possible sister to the family Actinocyclidae. Cadlina and Aldisa are the only two genera currently classified in the Cadlinidae.
A comprehensive phylogeny of the chromodorid nudibranchs found every one of the 14 traditional chromodorid genera were either non-monophyletic, or rendered another genus paraphyletic. Additionally, both the monotypic genera Verconia and Diversidoris are nested within clades. The authors presented a new classification of the chromodorid nudibranchs, which used molecular data to untangle evolutionary relationships and at the same time retains a historical connection to traditional systematics by using generic names attached to type species as clade names.[4] All Chromodorid nudibranchs feed on sponges.[9][10]
^Edmunds, M (1981). "Opisthobranchiate Mollusca from Ghana: Chromodorididae. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society". 71: 175–201. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help): “Chromodorid nudibranchs are among the most gorgeously colored of all animals.”
^Gosliner, T.M.; Behrens, D.W.; Valdes, A. (2008). Indo-Pacific Nudibranchs and Sea Slugs: A field guide to the World's most diverse fauna. Sea Challengers Natural History Books and the California Academy of Sciences.
^Turner, LM; Wilson, NG (2008). "Polyphyly across oceans: a molecular phylogeny of the Chromodorididae (Mollusca, Nudibranchia)". Zoologica Scripta. 37: 23–42. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2007.00310.x. S2CID86754600.
^Rudman, W.B. (June 1984). "The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: a review of the genera". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 81 (2/3): 115–273. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1984.tb01174.x.
^Johnson, R.F. (2011). "Breaking family ties: taxon sampling and molecular phylogeny of chromodorid nudibranchs (Mollusca, Gastropoda)". Zoologica Scripta. 40 (2): 137–157. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2010.00457.x. S2CID82123571.
^Rudman W.B. & Bergquist, P.R., 2007. A review of feeding specificity in the sponge-feeding Chromodorididae (Nudibranchia: Mollusca). Molluscan Research 27(2): 60–88.
