| Asterinidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Anseropoda placenta | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Valvatida |
| Family: | Asterinidae Gray, 1840 [1] |
| Genera | |
25, see text. | |
The Asterinidae are a large family of sea stars in the order Valvatida.
These are generally small sea stars, flattened dorsally and bearing very short arms, often giving a pentagonal shape in the body ;example: Asterians rubens (except in some species possessing more than five arms). The periphery of the body is thin and formed by indistinct, tiny marginal plates. They are characterized by their aboral face formed by plates shaped like crescents, sometimes giving a "knitted" appearance to the skin. [2]
The abyssal species can be bigger, like those of the genus Anseropoda , which can exceed 45 cm in diameter. [2]
Most of the species are small and relatively cryptic: they are often found hidden under rocks or in crevices, for example. Several species have access to a fissiparous asexual reproduction, multiplying their reproductive potential. For that reason, some species of the genera Meridiastra and Aquilonastra can sometimes appear spontaneously in aquariums, where they can proliferate from just one larva imported inadvertently. Some species can brood their young (which thus do not pass through a planctonic larval stage), such as Asterina pancerii . [2]
Most of the species feed on food fragments and algal or bacterial mat covering the substratum, evaginating their stomach on their food (a frequent feeding mode in sea stars). However, some species like Stegnaster inflatus takes advantage of their webbed shape to form a "trap" by heightening on the tip of their arms, and suddenly falling on a prey which would have believed to find shelter there. [2]
They can be found in almost all the seas of the world, from the abysses to the surface and from the poles to the tropics. [2]
This family comprises about 21 genera and 116 species according to O'Loughlin & Waters (2004), [3] whereas the World Asteroidea Database states that it includes 150 species in 25 genera. [1]
Genera included in the family according to the World Asteroidea Database: [1]
Patiriella is a genus of sea stars of the family Asterinidae. Many species formerly included in this genus have been transferred to other genera. They are commonly known as carpet sea stars.
Meridiastra calcar, formerly classified as Patiriella calcar, is a species of sea star in the family Asterinidae. It is endemic to Australia. It is commonly known as carpet sea star, cushion sea star, or eight-armed sea star.
Meridiastra gunnii is an Australian species of sea star. It has six arms and can be any colour. Molecular evidence indicated that there were genetically divergent eastern and western forms of what is currently referred to as M. gunnii in southern Australia, and that a taxonomic revision was necessary. Further studies have shown that it can be conspecific with Patiriella brevispina.
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.
Meridiastra mortenseni is a sea star of the family Asterinidae. It is endemic to New Zealand. Described as Patiriella mortenseni in 2002, it is named after T. Mortensen, who recorded it as distinct from Patiriella regularis, the New Zealand common cushion star, in 1925. According to genetic evidence, P. mortenseni was moved from the Patiriella genus to Meridiastra in 2004.
Asterina is a genus of asteroideans in the family Asterinidae.
The Oreasteridae are a family of sea stars in the class Asteroidea.
Callopatiria is a genus of starfish of the family Asterinidae. The genus is found in shallow waters off South Africa, down to a depth of about 82 m (269 ft).
Cryptasterina pentagona is a species of starfish in the family Asterinidae. It is found in shallow waters in north eastern Australia. Its life cycle includes the release of large-yolked eggs and the development of planktonic larvae which is in contrast to the very similar Cryptasterina hystera which is viviparous. The two appear to have diverged from a common ancestral line only a few thousand years ago.
Patiria pectinifera, the blue bat star, is a species of starfish in the family Asterinidae. It is found in the northern Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Japan, China and Russia. It is used as a model organism in developmental biology.
Nepanthia is a genus of starfish of the family Asterinidae. Members of the genus have four to seven rays and are found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, ranging from Burma and Indonesia to Australia.
Paranepanthia is a genus of starfish of the family Asterinidae. Members of the genus have five rays and are found in the waters around Australia, Indonesia and Antarctic New Zealand.
Aquilonastra chantalae is a species of starfish from the family Asterinidae. Asterinid sea stars are typically quite small with an often pentagonal-shaped body, though there are exceptions. They are dorsally flattened and have short arms. The body's thin periphery is built up by very small marginal plates. One distinct characteristic of those in this family is the presence of an aboral face shaped by crescent-like plates.
Aquilonastra is a genus of small sea stars within the family Asterinidae. It has over 20 described species.
Aquilonastra burtoni is a species of small sea star from the family Asterinidae from the Red Sea which has colonised the eastern Mediterranean by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal, although the Mediterranean populations are clonal reproducing through fissiparous asexual reproduction. It was originally described in 1840 by the English zoologist and philatelist John Edward Gray.
Disasterina is a genus of sea stars of the family Asterinidae. The genus occurs in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.
Parvulastra is a genus of starfish belonging to the family Asterinidae. The species of this genus are found in Southern Hemisphere.
Asterina hoensonae is a species of pentagonal starfish in the family Asterinidae. The holotype was collected at Cape Agulhas, South Africa.
Cryptasterina is a genus of starfish belonging to the family Asterinidae. They occur in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans in the littoral and shallow sublittoral zone.
Meridiastra is a genus of star fish in the family Asterinidae. The genus is found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with most records from the waters around Australia. They occur in shallow waters down to a depth of about 59 m (194 ft). Meridiastra are morphologically similar to the Atlantic genus Asterina. They are also phylogenetically close and possibly sister genera.