Hippasteria is one of 70 genera of sea stars in the diverse family Goniasteridae.
Description and characteristics
These sea stars are regular, five-armed starfishes, with a large and flattened central disc. Most of the species in this genus live in deep seas, where they seem to be predators of deep sea coral and cnidarians.
The species Hippasteria phrygiana may be one of the most widely distributed species : it is present in the 3 main oceanic basins.
List of species
According to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), the genus Hippasteria is composed of the following twelve species:
- Hippasteria californica <small>Fisher, 1905</small>
- Hippasteria falklandica <small>Fisher, 1940</small>
- Hippasteria heathi <small>Fisher, 1905</small>
- Hippasteria imperialis <small>Goto, 1914</small>
- Hippasteria leiopelta <small>Fisher, 1910</small>
- Hippasteria lepidonotus <small>(Fisher, 1905)</small>
- Hippasteria magellanica <small>Perrier, 1888</small>
- Hippasteria mcknighti <small>Mah, Neill, Eleaume & Foltz 2014</small>
- Hippasteria muscipula <small>Mah, Neill, Eleaume & Foltz 2014</small>
- Hippasteria nozawai <small>Goto, 1914</small>
- Hippasteria phrygiana <small>(Parelius, 1768)</small>
- Hippasteria tiburoni <small>Mah, Neill, Eleaume & Foltz 2014</small>
Bibliography
References