Stolonifera is a suborder of soft corals in the order

Alcyonacea Alcyonacea, or soft corals, are an order of corals. In addition to the fleshy soft corals, the order Alcyonacea now contains all species previously known as "gorgonian corals", that produce a more or less hard skeleton, though quite different f ...

. Members of this taxon are characterised by having separate polyps budding off an encrusting horizontal, branching

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external ...

. The skeletons include spicules or consists of a horny external cuticle. These soft corals are found in shallow tropical and temperate seas.

Families

According to the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...

, the following families are included in this suborder: * Acrossotidae * Arulidae *

Clavulariidae Clavulariidae is a family of soft corals in the suborder Stolonifera. Colonies in this family consist of separate retractable polyps growing from a horizontal, encrusting stolon or basal membrane. The tissues are stiffened by sclerites. Genera ...

* Coelogorgiidae * Cornulariidae * Pseudogorgiidae * Tubiporidae

References

Alcyonacea Cnidarian suborders {{Octocorallia-stub