Asterinidae, Gray, 1840

Mah, Christopher L., 2023, New Genera, Species, and observations on the biology of Antarctic Valvatida (Asteroidea), Zootaxa 5310 (1), pp. 1-88 : 76

Abyssal Asterinidae

Most Asterinidae have been reported from depths less than 500 m ( O’Loughlin & Waters 2004; A.M. Clark 1993) with only a few genera extending into bathyal depths, including Kampylaster and Tremaster mirabilis reaching 700 and 1060 m, respectively ( O’Loughlin & Waters 2004). Specimens of new Kampylaster species and Astrotholus n. gen. collected to 3020 and 3944 m record first occurrences of Asterinidae in the bathyal zone (2000–4000 m). The large number of new species discovered of Astrotholus and Kampylaster suggest that further sampling of greater depths are important to the understanding of Antarctic biodiversity of asteroids as well as of other echinoderms.

Neither Astrotholus nor Kampylaster is known from beyond Antarctic/Subantarctic settings and thus diversification at present is thought to be in situ. This stands in contrast to other Antarctic asteroid groups, such as the Porcellanasteridae , which are wide-ranging deep-sea taxa, and include species present in both the Southern Ocean and in bathyal/abyssal habitats elsewhere in the world.