Hippasteria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hippasteria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hippasteria phrygiana | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Valvatida |
| Family: | Goniasteridae |
| Subfamily: | Hippasterinae |
| Genus: | Hippasteria Gray, 1840[1] |
| Synonyms | |
|
Hippasteria (Euhippasteria) Dons, 1938 | |
Hippasteria is one of 70 genera of sea stars in the diverse family Goniasteridae.[1]
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.[2]
The species Hippasteria phrygiana may be one of the most widely distributed species : it is present in the 3 main oceanic basins.[3]
