Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 22, 2026

Archaster

Archasteridae is a family of starfish found in shallow waters in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The genus Astropus, previously included in this family, is now included in the genus Archaster with the single species, Astropus longipes, being accepted as Archaster lorioli Sukarno & Jangoux, 1977.

Last revised
Jun 22, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
196 w
Citations
3
Source
Archaster
Common sea star (Archaster typicus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Asteroidea
Order: Valvatida
Family: Archasteridae
Viguier, 18781
Genus: Archaster
Müller & Troschel, 1840
Species

See text

Archasteridae is a family of starfish found in shallow waters in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The genus Astropus, previously included in this family, is now included in the genus Archaster with the single species, Astropus longipes (Gray, 1840), being accepted as Archaster lorioli Sukarno & Jangoux, 1977.

The only genus in the family is now Archaster as three subfamilies have now been raised to family status:1

Species

The following species are listed by the World Register of Marine Species:2

Image Scientific name Distribution
Archaster angulatus Müller & Troschel, 1842 East Indies, Philippine, China and south Japan
Archaster lorioli Sukarno & Jangoux, 1977 Indian Ocean
Archaster typicus Müller & Troschel, 1840 Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific
References

References

  1. Mah, Christopher (2010). Mah CL (ed.). "Archasteridae". World Asteroidea Database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
  2. Mah, Christopher (2010). Mah CL (ed.). "Archaster Müller & Troschel, 1840". World Asteroidea Database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-04-08.