Goniasteridae

Mah, Christopher L., 2017, Overview of the Ferdina - like Goniasteridae (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) including a new subfamily, three new genera and fourteen new species, Zootaxa 4271 (1), pp. 1-72 : 5

The Goniasteridae

Goniasterids occur primarily at continental shelf depths with many taxa extending below 200 m ( Mah and Blake 2012). Exceptionally, some taxa occur in shallow or intertidal settings and below 1000 m in lower bathyal/abyssal settings (e.g., Mah 2015). Ecologically, goniasterids vary from detritivores, such as Mediaster aequalis , to predators, such as the corallivorous Hippasteria and Evoplosoma ( Mah 2015a, 2015b).

Most Goniasteridae are identified by a heavily calcified endoskeleton, a marginal plate series of blocky ossicles forming a distinct border around the periphery of the body, papulae limited to the abactinal surface, and a large disk with a relatively flattened body shape. This fundamental body form has been observed in other families in the Valvatida , including the Ophidiasteridae , Oreasteridae , Odontasteridae among others, suggesting plesiomorphy and/or convergence (e.g., Blake 1987). Limits of the goniasterid body form have not been comprehensively tested.

Although goniasterid monophyly has been at least partially upheld by molecular data ( Mah and Foltz 2011), numerous goniasterid genera display morphology intermediate with other families ( Ophidiasteridae , Oreasteridae , etc.) within the Valvatacea suggesting shared ancestries. Anthenea and Goniodiscaste r, for example, have been assigned to both the Goniasteridae and the Oreasteridae by different authors. As discussed below, several members of the Ophidiasteridae have been historically considered as goniasterid-like, although these have not been considered as contentious as those taxa intermediate between goniasterids and oreasterids, the discovery of specimens displaying ophidiasterid/goniasterid characters challenges accepted taxonomic definitions for these groups.