Family ECHINASTERIDAE
Compiler and date details
July 2012 - Tim O’Hara, Museum Victoria
F.W.E. Rowe & J. Gates, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (1995) Updated (2001) by Tim O'Hara, Museum Victoria, Carlton, Victoria, Australia
Introduction
The Echinasteridae are a cosmopolitan family of 11 genera. Five genera are recorded in Australian waters, represented by 14 species.
This is the sole family in the order Spinulosida and is distinguished from other asteroids by the following combination of character states: disc small, arms long and slender; aboral ossicles reticulate or loosely tessellate, overlaid by thin or thick skin with spines single or in small groups; pedicellariae lacking; ampullae single; furrow (adambulacral) spines in vertical series. A single recurved apical oral spine occurs in one genus (Odontohenricia). Marginal plates are more prominent and papulae isolated, only abactinal in one genus (Metrodira).
General References
Blake, D.B. 1980. On the affinities of three small sea-star families. Journal of Natural History 14: 163-182 figs 1-8
Blake, D.B. 1987. A classification and phylogeny of post-Palaeozoic sea-stars (Asteroidea: Echinodermata). Journal of Natural History 21: 481-528
Rowe, F.W.E. & Albertson, E.L. 1988. A new genus and four new species in the family Echinasteridae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 110(1): 83-100 figs 1-10
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-Sep-2023 | 04-Dec-2012 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |