Description of a new family, new genus and two new species of deep-sea Forcipulatacea (Asteroidea), including the first known sea star from hydrothermal vent habitats
Based on a phylogenetic analysis of undescribed taxa within the Forcipulatacea, a new family of deep-sea forcipulatacean starfishes, Paulasteriidae fam. nov., is described from deep-sea settings. Paulasterias tyleri gen. et sp. nov. was observed at recently documented hydrothermal vents on the East...
Published in: | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Wiley
2015
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/508030/ |
Summary: | Based on a phylogenetic analysis of undescribed taxa within the Forcipulatacea, a new family of deep-sea forcipulatacean starfishes, Paulasteriidae fam. nov., is described from deep-sea settings. Paulasterias tyleri gen. et sp. nov. was observed at recently documented hydrothermal vents on the East Scotia Ridge, Southern Ocean. A second species, Paulasterias mcclaini gen. et sp. nov. was observed in deep-sea settings in the North Pacific, more distant from hydrothermal vents. Both species are multi-armed (with between six and eight arms), with a fleshy body wall, and a poorly developed or absent adoral carina. Here, we include discussions of pedicellariae morphology, feeding biology, and classification |
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