Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 10, 2026

Hippasteria

Hippasteria is one of 70 genera of sea stars in the diverse family Goniasteridae.

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Jul 10, 2026
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Hippasteria
Hippasteria phrygiana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Asteroidea
Order: Valvatida
Family: Goniasteridae
Subfamily: Hippasterinae
Genus: Hippasteria
Gray, 18401
Synonyms

Hippasteria (Euhippasteria) Dons, 1938
Hippasteria (Nehippasteria) Dons, 1938
Cryptopeltaster Fisher, 1905

Hippasteria is one of 70 genera of sea stars in the diverse family Goniasteridae.1

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.2

The species Hippasteria phrygiana may be one of the most widely distributed species : it is present in the 3 main oceanic basins.3

List of species

According to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), the genus Hippasteria is composed of the following twelve species:1

  • Hippasteria californica Fisher, 1905
  • Hippasteria falklandica Fisher, 1940
  • Hippasteria heathi Fisher, 1905
  • Hippasteria imperialis Goto, 1914
  • Hippasteria leiopelta Fisher, 1910
  • Hippasteria lepidonotus (Fisher, 1905)
  • Hippasteria magellanica Perrier, 1888
  • Hippasteria mcknighti Mah, Neill, Eleaume & Foltz 2014
  • Hippasteria muscipula Mah, Neill, Eleaume & Foltz 2014
  • Hippasteria nozawai Goto, 1914
  • Hippasteria phrygiana (Parelius, 1768)
  • Hippasteria tiburoni Mah, Neill, Eleaume & Foltz 2014
Bibliography

Bibliography

  • Mah, Christopher L.; Neill, K.; Eléaume, Marc; Foltz, D. (2014). "New Species and global revision of Hippasteria (Hippasterinae: Goniasteridae; Asteroidea; Echinodermata)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 171 (2): 422–456. doi:10.1111/zoj.12131.
References

References

  1. Mah, Christopher L. "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Hippasteria Gray, 1840". Marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
  2. Mah, Christopher L. (2014-06-10). "The Hippest Post you Know! New Hippasteria species!". The Echinoblog.
  3. Mah, Christopher L. (2013-02-12). "Starfish Mystery! 3 Oceans, 2 Hemispheres, but ONE species?!". The Echinoblog.