| Asterias rollestoni | |
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| Species: | A. rollestoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Asterias rollestoni Bell, 1881 | |
| Synonyms [1] [2] | |
Asterias rollestoni is a common starfish native to the seas of China and Japan, and not known from the far north or the American coasts of the eastern Pacific. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
It was first described by Francis Jeffrey Bell in 1881 from a collection made before 1873 in Japanese waters. [1] [5] A synonym, Allasterias forficulosa, was described by Addison Emery Verrill in 1914 from a collection made in Japan in 1913 (see image). [1] [6] [7] In 1930 Walter Kenrick Fisher subsumed it as a forma of Asterias amurensis , [2] [8] [9] [10] and further stated that A. rollestoni might well intergrade with A. versicolor to the south of its range. He synonymised Verrill's Allasterias forficulosa with his A. amurensis f. rollestoni and stated Sladen's specimens of A. amurensis also belonged to this form. [8] [9] In 1936, and subsequently in 1940, Ryori Hayashi followed Fisher's interpretation, in 1940 even subsuming Asterias versicolor as a form of A. amurensis. [11] In 1950, however, Alexander Michailovitsch Djakonov recognized it as a full species again. [2] [10] Subsequent authors such as Djakonov (1958), Baranova & Wu (1962), Chang & Liao (1964), Baranova (1971) and Jangoux & Lawrence (2001) upheld this interpretation. [10]
It has five arms and a moderately-sized central disc. [5] The arm length is up to 12 cm; the ratio between the length of the arm and the radius of its disc is usually 4:1 to 4.5:1. [2] It has planktonic larvae. [1]
In 1914 Verrill found it most resembling A. rathbuni , from which it differs by virtue of less dense spines near the mouth, but longer and larger spines dorsally and marginally, and larger and more numerous pedicellaria. He states it is to a lesser degree similar to A. versicolor, differing from this species by having more spines and longer and sharper pedicellaria, but at the same time also considered Allasterias forficulosa, a taxon he created in 1914 but now considered a synonym of Asterias rollestoni, closer resembling to A. versicolor. [6] In 1930 Fisher stated that Asterias rollestoni might well intergrade with A. versicolor to the south of its range, [9] and in 1940 Hayashi also found it to be most closely related to A. versicolor. [11]
According to Djakonov it has been collected at depths of 5-96m. It is found in the littoral zone from the east in the seas around Japan, west to the Sea of Japan [2] and further to the Yellow Sea, [10] and north through the Peter the Great Gulf (Primorsky Krai) to off the coast of De-Kastri in Khabarovsk Krai. [2] It is among the most common starfish of Chinese seawaters. [4] [12]
Asterias rollestoni can grow back its limbs should it lose them. This begins four days after amputation, when cells near the end of the stump de-differentiate and migrate to the wound where they form a thickened skin which gradually re-differentiates into mature tissue. [13]
It is considered useful in traditional medicine in China and is in the 2015 Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. [4] [12] [14]
Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish are also known as Asteroids due to being in the class Asteroidea. About 1,500 species of starfish occur on the seabed in all the world's oceans, from the tropics to frigid polar waters. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the surface.
Asterias is a genus of the Asteriidae family of sea stars. It includes several of the best-known species of sea stars, including the (Atlantic) common starfish, Asterias rubens, and the northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis. The genus contains a total of eight species in all. All species have five arms and are native to shallow oceanic areas of cold to temperate parts of the Holarctic. These starfish have planktonic larvae. Asterias amurensis is an invasive species in Australia and can in some years become a pest in the Japanese mariculture industry.
Asterias amurensis, also known as the Northern Pacific seastar and Japanese common starfish, is a seastar found in shallow seas and estuaries, native to the coasts of northern China, Korea, far eastern Russia, Japan, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and British Columbia in Canada. Two forms are recognised: the nominate and formarobusta from the Strait of Tartary. It mostly preys on large bivalve molluscs, and it is mostly preyed on by other species of starfish. Population booms in Japan can affect the harvest of mariculture operations and are costly to combat.
Astropecten is a genus of sea stars of the family Astropectinidae.
Solaster paxillatus, the orange sun star, is a species of starfish found at varying depths in the northern Pacific Ocean. It is a natural predator of the starfish Asterias amurensis.
Goniasteridae constitute the largest family of sea stars, included in the order Valvatida. They are mostly deep-dwelling species, but the family also include several colorful shallow tropical species.
Henricia is a large genus of slender-armed sea stars belonging to the family Echinasteridae. It contains about fifty species.
Luidia is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution.
Leptasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Members of this genus are characterised by having six arms although five-armed specimens sometimes occur. L. muelleri is the type species. The taxonomy of the genus is confusing and Leptasterias hexactis seems to be a species complex. Some species brood their eggs.
Solaster is a genus of sea stars in the family Solasteridae.
Evasterias troschelii is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Its common names include the mottled star, false ochre sea star and Troschel's true star. It is found in Kamchatka and the north western coast of North America.
The spiny sand seastar is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is found in shallow parts of the China Sea and in the vicinity of the Korean archipelago. The tissues of this starfish have been found to contain several secondary metabolites with medicinal potential.
The Brisingidae are a family of starfish found only in the deep sea. They inhabit both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at abyssal depths, and also occur in the Southern Ocean and around Antarctica at slightly shallower depths.
Poraniidae is a family of starfishes in the order Valvatida.
The Freyellidae are a family of deep-sea-dwelling starfish. It is one of two families in the order Brisingida. The majority of species in this family are found in Antarctic waters and near Australia. Other species have been found near New Zealand and the United States.
Asterias rathbuni is a starfish native to the Pacific coasts of Alaska in the United States and Far East Russia. There are two subspecies.
Asterias argonauta is a starfish native to the Pacific coasts of Far East Russia.
Asterias microdiscus is a starfish native to the Pacific coasts of Far East Russia.
Asterias versicolor is a species of starfish native to the southern coasts of Japan southwards to the South China Sea.
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