Astropectinidae
| Astropectinidae | ||||||||||
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Northern comb star ( Astropecten irregularis ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Astropectinidae | ||||||||||
| Gray , 1840 |
Astropectinidae is the name of a family of starfish (Asteroidea) that live on sandy and muddy surfaces. With 242 species currently accepted, it is the second largest family of starfish after the Goniasteridae and ahead of the Asteriidae . 104 species alone belong to the worldwide widespread genus Astropecten . Most of the other genera include deep-sea species and have therefore been little researched.
description
In adaptation to a life on sand and mud, the Astropectinidae have a regular, flattened shape. The five arms have the shape of isosceles triangles, but the overall shape of very short-armed species such as the genus Trophodiscus can also approach a pentagon. At the edges there are two rows of well-developed marginal plates, often covered with movable limestone spines, which serve for rapid movement on the substrate. The skin gills (papules) on the top are protected by umbrella-like plates (paxilles). Since there is no possibility of attachment to the fine substrate, the ambulacral feet , which are provided with double ampoules, taper to a point and have no suction pads.
In all species - as in other Paxillenstars - the stomach ends blind and cannot be turned out. As far as is known, these starfish are predators, devouring the prey whole and digesting it in the stomach. Indigestible remains such as mussel shells and sea urchin shells are expelled through the mouth opening.
Genera
According to the World Register of Marine Species , the Astropectinidae family includes 27 genera:
- Astromesites Fisher, 1913
- Astropecten Gray, 1840
- Astropectinides Verrill, 1914
- Bathybiaster Danielssen & Koren, 1883
- Betelgeusia Blake & Reid, 1998
- Blakiaster Perrier, 1881
- Bollonaster McKnight, 1977
- Bunodaster Verrill, 1909
- Craspidaster Sladen, 1889
- Ctenophoraster Fisher, 1906
- Ctenopleura Fisher, 1913
- Dipsacaster Alcock, 1893
- Dytaster Sladen, 1889
- Koremaster Fisher, 1913
- Leptychaster E.A. Smith, 1876
- Lonchotaster Sladen, 1889
- Macroptychaster H.ES Clark, 1963
- Mimastrella Fisher, 1916
- Patagiaster Fisher, 1906
- Persephonaster Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1891
- Plutonaster Sladen, 1889
- Proserpinaster Fell, 1963
- Psilaster Sladen, 1885
- Tethyaster Sladen, 1889
- Thrissacanthias Fisher, 1910
- Tritonaster Fisher, 1906
- Trophodiscus Fisher, 1917
Plutonaster sp.
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literature
- Howard M. Feder: Asteroidea , in: Robert Hugh Morris, Donald Putnam Abbott, Eugene Clinton Haderlie: Intertidal Invertebrates of California . P. 37: Astropectinidae . Stanford University Press, 1st ed., Stanford (CA, USA) 1980.
Web links
- MJ de Kluijver, SS Ingalsuo: Astropectinidae Gray, 1840 . Macrobenthos of the North Sea - Echinodermata. Marine Species Identification Portal.
- Christopher Mah: Astropectinidae Gray, 1840 . In: Christopher Mah: World Asteroidea database. World Register of Marine Species , 2015.
- ITIS Astropectinidae Gray, 1840