Asterina (starfish)
| Asterina | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Asterina gibbosa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Valvatida |
| Suborder: | Leptognathina |
| Family: | Asterinidae |
| Genus: |
Asterina Nardo, 1834 |
| Type species | |
|
Asterina gibbosa (Pennant, 1777) |
|
| Species | |
|
see text |
|
see text
Asterina is a genus of small sea stars within the family Asterinidae. It has over thirty described species.
The species occurring in Australian waters (A. anomala, H.L. Clark, 1921; A. atyphoida H.L. Clark, 1916; A. cepheus (Müller and Troschel, 1842) A. coronata von Martens, 1866; A. heteractis H.L. Clark,1938 ; A. inopinata Livingstone, 1933; A. sarasini (de Loriol, 1897) and A. scobinata Livingstone, 1933) are considered not congeneric with the type species Asterina gibbosa (Pennant, 1777) by Rowe (in Rowe and Gates, 1995) and will possibly to assigned to another genus or a new genus. In the same book, Rowe suggested that Asterina should be restricted to Atlantic waters.
There is not yet enough adequate molecular evidence for a definite assignment of the species mentioned below to the genus Asterina.
According to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), the genus Asterina is composed of the following species :
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