Astrostole Fisher, 1923

Fisher 1923: 255, 1928: 130.

Comment. Astrostole includes six widely distributed shallow-water species in the South Pacific, from Australia and New Zealand to the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Astrostole scabra was supported in Mah & Foltz’s (2011) molecular phylogeny of the Forcipulatacea as a member of the “Pan Tropical” clade within the Asteriidae, a cluster with members present in Pacific and Atlantic tropics. Astrostole is similar to other members of the “Pan Tropical” clade in that it displays multiple rays, 6 to 10.