Corambidae is a family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of sea slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

s, dorid nudibranch

Nudibranch

A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...

s, marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Onchidoridoidea

Onchidoridoidea

Onchidoridoidea is a taxonomic superfamily of colorful sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks.-Families:Families within the superfamily Onchidoridoidea are based on the taxonomy by Bouchet & Rocroi as follows:...

. This family is within the clade Euctenidiacea

Euctenidiacea

The Euctenidiacea are a taxonomic family of sea snails or slugs, marine gastropod molluscs in the order Notaspidea.A phylogenetical study, published in 2000, by Wägele & Willan has shown that the subclade Gnathodoridacea and the subclade Doridacea each form a monophyletic group.In a later study,...

.

Species in this family show a characteristic posterior notch in the notum

Notum

The notum is the dorsal portion of an insect's thoracic segment. It is typically a single large sclerite. It can be further divided into the alinotum which bears the wings and the postnotum which bears the phragma....

 (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

Norwegian Sea

The Norwegian Sea is a marginal sea in the North Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Norway. It is located between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea and adjoins the North Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a...

.

Taxonomy

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

• Corambe
  Corambe
  Corambe is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod molluscs in family Corambidae within the superfamily Onchidoridoidea.Genus Corambe is the type genus of the family Corambidae.-Species :Species within the genus Corambe include:...
  
  Bergh, 1869 - type genus of the family Corambidae; 13 species (synonyms : Corambella, Doridella,Paracorambe, Suhinia, Quasicorambe, Neocorambe, Gulbinia)
• Echinocorambe Valdes & Bouchet, 1998 : 1 species
  • Echinocorambe brattegardi Valdes & Bouchet, 1998
• Loy
  Loy (gastropod)
  Loy is a genus of sea slugs, dorid nudibranchs, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Corambidae within the superfamily Onchidoridoidea. -Species :Species within the genus Loy include:* Loy meyeni Martynov, 1994...
  
  Martynov, 1994 : 3 species (synonyms : Proloy, Psammodoris)
  • Loy meyeni Martynov, 1994
  • Loy millenae Martynov, 1994
  • Loy thompsoni
    Loy thompsoni
    Loy thompsoni is a species of sea slug, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Corambidae.- Distribution :This species is found along the west coast of North America from Alaska to California....
    
    (Millen & Nybakken, 1991)

External links

• Sea Slug Forum species list