The suborder Alcyoniina (in some systems classified as the order Alcyonacea in the narrowest sense) is a former octocoralian taxon belonging to the broadly conceived order Alcyonacea.
Since a 2022 revision, almost all the families of former Alcyoniina belong to the order Malacalcyonacea, within which, however, they do not form a monophyletic taxon. Only the problematic (see below) Alcyoniinan family Parasphaerascleridae now belongs to the order Scleralcyonacea.McFadden, C.S.; van Ofwegen, L.P.; Quattrini, A.M. (2022). Revisionary systematics of Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) guided by phylogenomics. Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists. 1(3), 8735, pp. 1-79
Members of Alcyoniina are found mainly in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Families The World Register of Marine Species listed the following families in the suborder Alcyoniina in October 2022: family Acrophytidae McFadden & van Ofwegen, 2017 family Alcyoniidae Lamouroux, 1812 family Aquaumbridae Breedy, van Ofwegen & Vargas, 2012 family Corymbophytidae McFadden & van Ofwegen, 2017 family Leptophytidae McFadden & van Ofwegen, 2017 family Nephtheidae Gray, 1862 family Nidaliidae Gray, 1869 family Paralcyoniidae Gray, 1869 family Xeniidae Ehrenberg, 1828
The family Parasphaerascleridae was sometimes also included in the suborder. Alternatively, it was classified as incertae sedis within Alcyonacea.
References