Cymodoceaceae

Cymodoceaceae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Alismatales
Family:	Cymodoceaceae; Vines
Genera
	Amphibolis; Cymodocea; Halodule; Syringodium; Thalassodendron;

Cymodoceaceae is a family of flowering plants, sometimes known as the "manatee-grass family", which includes only marine species.^[2]

The 2016 APG IV does recognize Cymodoceaceae and places it in the order Alismatales, in the clade monocots. The family includes five genera, totaling 17 species ^[3] occurring in tropical seas and oceans (so-called seagrasses). According to the AP-Website it is doubtful if the family Ruppiaceae is distinct enough to be kept apart. The inclusion of the sole genus Ruppia in Ruppiaceae in Cymodoceaceae is being considered. The plants in the three families Cymodoceaceae, Posidoniaceae and Ruppiaceae form a monophyletic group.

Cymodoceaceae

	Amphibolis

	Thalassodendron

	Cymodocea

	Syringodium

Halodule

Its fossil record shows that Cymodoceaceae was established in its current Indo-West Pacific distribution by the early Eocene and perhaps even during the late Paleocene.^[4] Fossils of Thalassodendron auriculalopris den Hartog and Cymodocea floridana den Hartog (both extant) were also found in west-central Florida and date back to the late middle Eucene.^[5] Their age and lack of diversity speaks to an extremely slow rate of evolution within the Cymodoceaceae.^[6]

^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
^ Waycott, Michelle; McMahon, Kathryn; Lavery, Paul (2014). A Guide to Southern Temperate Seagrasses. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9781486300150.
^ Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3). Magnolia Press: 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
^ Brasier, M.D. (1975). "An outline history of seagrass communities". Palaeontology. 18: 681–702.
^ Lumbert, S.H., Den Hartog, C., Phillips, R.C., and Olsen, F.S. (1984). The occurrence of fossil seagrasses in the Avon Park formation (late middle eocene), Levy County, Florida (U.S.A.). Aquatic Botany 20, 121–129.
^ Larkum, A. W. D., and C. Den Hartog (1989). Evolution and biogeography of seagrasses. In Biology of Seagrasses, (Amsterdam: Elsevier), pp. 112–156.

[APGIII2009-1] Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x. hdl:10654/18083. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2013-06-26.

[2] Waycott, Michelle; McMahon, Kathryn; Lavery, Paul (2014). A Guide to Southern Temperate Seagrasses. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9781486300150.

[Christenhusz-Byng2016-3] Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3). Magnolia Press: 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.

[4] Brasier, M.D. (1975). "An outline history of seagrass communities". Palaeontology. 18: 681–702.

[5] Lumbert, S.H., Den Hartog, C., Phillips, R.C., and Olsen, F.S. (1984). The occurrence of fossil seagrasses in the Avon Park formation (late middle eocene), Levy County, Florida (U.S.A.). Aquatic Botany 20, 121–129.

[6] Larkum, A. W. D., and C. Den Hartog (1989). Evolution and biogeography of seagrasses. In Biology of Seagrasses, (Amsterdam: Elsevier), pp. 112–156.

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