Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-2tv5m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-19T15:02:56.222Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Taxonomic revision of the genus Echinaster (Spinulosida: Echinasteridae) in Japanese waters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2025

Itaru Kobayashi Open the ORCID record for Itaru Kobayashi [Opens in a new window]  and
Toshihiko Fujita
Itaru Kobayashi*
Affiliation:
Research Center for Inland Seas, Kobe University, Hyogo, Japan Department of Zoology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Ibaraki, Japan
Toshihiko Fujita
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Ibaraki, Japan
*
Corresponding author: Itaru Kobayashi; Email: leopard.gecko.1119@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The genus Echinaster in Japanese waters was revised, resulting in the discovery of two new species, E. crystallus n. sp. and E. toyoshiomaruae n. sp., and one newly recorded species, E. stereosomus, from Japan. Molecular phylogenetic analyses including 22 echinasterid species indicate that another newly recorded species, Metrodira subulata, is grouped with the other Echinaster species. Since the revised diagnostic characteristics of the genus Echinaster are consistent with the morphology of Metrodira, we newly synonymize this genus with Echinaster. Consequently, the genus Echinaster includes six species in Japanese waters. Morphological descriptions of all Japanese Echinaster species were provided.

Keywords

Echinaster crystallusEchinaster toyoshiomaruaeEchinodermstarfishtaxonomy

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 105 , 2025 , e104
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Benham, WB (1909) Echinoderma (science reports N.Z. Government Trawling Expedition). Records of the Canterbury Museum 1, 83–116.Google Scholar
Blake, DB (1980) On the affinities of three small sea-star families. Journal of Natural History 14, 163–182.10.1080/00222938000770171CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, DB and Turner, RL (1984) Echinaster graminicola, a new species of spinulosid sea star (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the west coast of Florida. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 97, 167–178.Google Scholar
Capella-Gutiérrez, S, Silla-Martínez, JM and Gabaldón, T (2009) TrimAl: A tool for automated alignment trimming in large-scale phylogenetic analyses. Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) 25, 1972–1973.Google ScholarPubMed
Clark, AH (1916) Six new starfishes from the Gulf of California and adjacent waters. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 24, 51–62.Google Scholar
Clark, AH (1952) Echinoderms from the Marshall Islands. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 102, 265–303.10.5479/si.00963801.102-3302.265CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, AM (1987) Notes on Atlantic and other Asteroidea. 5. Echinasteridae. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Zoology) 53, 65–78.Google Scholar
Clark, AM (1996) An index of names of recent Asteroidea. Part 3. Velatida and Spinulosida. Echinoderm Studies 5, 183–250.Google Scholar
Clark, AM and Downey, ME (1992) Starfishes of the Atlantic. London: Chapman & Hall.Google Scholar
Clark, AM and Rowe, FWE (1971) Monograph of shallow-water Indo-West Pacific Echinoderms. British Museum (Natural History) Publications 690, 1–238.Google Scholar
Clark, AM and Tortonese, E (1986) A new subspecies of Echinaster sepositus (Retzius) (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from West Africa. Atti della Società italiana di scienze naturali e del museo civico di storia naturale di Milano 127, 65–71.Google Scholar
Clark, HL (1914) The echinoderms of the Western Australian Museum. Records of the Western Australian Museum 1, 132–173.Google Scholar
Clark, HL (1916) Report on the sea-lilies, starfishes, brittle-stars and sea-urchins obtained by the F.I.S. “Endeavour” on the coast of Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia. Biological Results of the Fishing experiments carried on by F.I.S. Endeavour 1904–1914 4, 1–123.Google Scholar
Clark, HL (1921) The Echinoderm Fauna of Torres Strait: its Composi- tion and Its Origin. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington.Google Scholar
Clark, HL (1923) The echinoderm fauna of South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum 13, 221–435.Google Scholar
Clark, HL (1938) Echinoderms from Australia, an account of collections made in 1929 and 1932. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoöology at Harvard Collage 55, 1–597.Google Scholar
Clark, HL (1946) The echinoderm fauna of Australia. Its composition and its origin. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 566, 1–567.Google Scholar
Cunha, R, Martins, L, Menegola, C and Souto, C (2021) Taxonomy of the sea stars (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from Bahia State, including ontogenetic variation and an illustrated key to the Brazilian species. Zootaxa 4955, 1–78.Google Scholar
Djakonov, AM (1930) Echiniden, Ophiuriden und Asteriden gesammelt von Prof. P.J. Schmidt bei den Riu-Kiu Inseln im Jahre 1926-1927. Zoologische Jahrbücher 59, 233–252.Google Scholar
Domantay, JS and Roxas, HA (1938) The littoral Asteroidea of Port Galera Bay and adjacent waters. Philippine Journal of Science 65, 203–237.Google Scholar
Downey, ME (1973) Starfishes from the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 126, 1–158.10.5479/si.00810282.126CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dujardin, MF and Hupe, MH (1862) Histoire naturelle des zoophytes échinodermes: comprenant la description des crinoïdes, des ophiurides, des astérides, des échinides et des holothurides. Paris: Libraire Encyclopedique de Roret.Google Scholar
Fisher, WK (1911) Asteroidea of the North Pacific and adjacent waters. Part I. Phanerozonia and Spinulosa. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 76, 1–420.Google Scholar
Fisher, WK (1913) New starfishes from the Philippines Islands, Celebes, and the Moluccas. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 43, 599–648.10.5479/si.00963801.43-1944.599CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fisher, WK (1919) Starfishes of the Philippine seas and adjacent waters. Bulletin of the U.S. National Museum 43, 1–547.Google Scholar
Fisher, WK (1940) Asteroidea. Discovery Reports 20, 69–306.Google Scholar
Foltz, DW, Bolton, MT, Kelley, SP and Nguyen, AT (2007) Combined mitochondrial and nuclear sequences support the monophyly of forcipulatacean sea stars. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43, 627–634.Google ScholarPubMed
Gray, JE (1840) XXXII. A synopsis of the genera and species of the class Hypostoma (Asterias, Linnaeus). Annals of the Magazine of Natural History 6, 275–290.10.1080/03745484009443296CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, JE (1866) Synopsis of the species of starfish in the British Museum. London: British Museum.10.5962/bhl.title.11308CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grube, E (1857) Uber einige neue Seesterne im zoologischen Museum zu Breslau. Jahres-Bericht der Schlesischen Gesellschaft für Vaterländische Cultur 43, 59–61.Google Scholar
Hayashi, R (1940) Contributions to the classification of the sea-stars of Japan, I: Spinulosa. Journal of the Faculty of Science, Hokkaido Imperial University, Series 6, Zoology 7, 107–204.Google Scholar
Hayashi, R (1973) The Sea-stars of Sagami Bay. Tokyo: Biological Laboratory, Imperial Household.Google Scholar
Hoareau, TB and Boissin, E (2010) Design of phylum-specific hybrid primers for DNA barcoding: Addressing the need for efficient COI amplification in the Echinodermata. Molecular Ecology Resources 10, 960–967.10.1111/j.1755-0998.2010.02848.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hopkins, TS, Fontanella, FM, and Ventura, CRR (2003). Morphological diagnosis of three Brazilian sea stars of the Genus Echinaster (Sub-genus Othilia). Féral, JP, and David, B (eds.), Echinoderm Research. Lisse: Sweets & Zeitlinger, pp. 97–103.Google Scholar
Jangoux, M (1978) Biological results of the Snellius Expedition XXIX. Echinodermata, Asteroidea. Zoologische Mededelingen 52, 287–300.Google Scholar
Jangoux, M (1981) Echinodermes: Astéroïdes. Résultats des campagnes MUSORSTOM: 1. Philippines (18-28 Mars 1976). Mémoires du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle 91, 457–476.Google Scholar
Jangoux, M and de Ridder, C (1990) Annotated catalogue of recent echinoderm type specimens in the collection of the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien. Annalen Des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien 91, 205–213.Google Scholar
Janies, DA, Voight, JR and Daly, M (2011) Echinoderm phylogeny including Xyloplax, a progenetic asteroid. Systematic Biology 60, 420–438.10.1093/sysbio/syr044CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Janosik, AM, Mahon, AR and Halanych, K (2011) Evolutionary history of Southern Ocean Odontaster sea star species (Odontasteridae; Asteroidea). Polar Biology 34, 575–586.10.1007/s00300-010-0916-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katoh, K and Standley, DM (2013) MAFFT multiple sequence alignment software version 7: Improvements in performance and usability. Molecular Biology and Evolution 30, 772–780.10.1093/molbev/mst010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koehler, R (1910a) An account of the shallow-water Asteroidea. Echinoderma of the Indian Museum 6, 1–192.Google Scholar
Koehler, R (1910b) Astéries et Ophiures des îles Aru et Kei. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 33, 265–295.Google Scholar
Kumar, S, Stecher, G and Tamura, K (2016) MEGA7: Molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 7.0 for bigger datasets. Molecular Biology and Evolution 33, 1870–1874.10.1093/molbev/msw054CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Layton, KKS, Corstorphine, EA and Hebert, PDN (2016) Exploring Canadean echinoderm diversity through DNA barcodes. PloS One 11, e0166118.Google Scholar
Leipoldt, F (1895) Asteroidea der Vetta-Pisani expedition (1882–1885). Zeitschrift Für Wissenschaftliche Zoologie 59, 545–654.Google Scholar
Liao, Y and Clark, AM (1995) The Echinoderms of Southern China. Beijing: Science Press.Google Scholar
Lopes, EM, Pérez-Portela, R, Paiva, PC and Ventura, CRR (2016) The molecular phylogeny of the sea star Echinaster (Asteroidea: Echinasteridae) provides insights for genus taxonomy. Invertebrate Biology 135, 235–244.10.1111/ivb.12135CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loriol, P (1899) Notes pour servir a l’histoire des Echinodermes. VII. Mémoires de la Société de Physique Et d’Histoire Naturelle de Genève 33, 1–34.Google Scholar
Lüdwig, H (1903). Seesterne. Résultats du Voyage du S.Y. Belgica En 1897-1898-1899: Rapports Scientifiques. Anvers: J.-E. Buschmann.Google Scholar
Lütken, C (1871) Fortasatte kritiske og beskrivende Bidrag til Kundskab om Sostjernerne (Asteriderne). Videnskabelige Meddelelser Fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 23, 227–304.Google Scholar
Mah, CL and Blake, DB (2012) Global diversity and phylogeny of the Asteroidea (Echinodermata). PLoS One 7, e35644.10.1371/journal.pone.0035644CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marenzeller, EV (1895) Uber eine neue Echinaster- Art von den Salomons-Iseln. Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften 62, 531.Google Scholar
Marsh, LM (1974) Shallow-water asterozoans of southeastern Polynesia.1. Asteroidea. Micronesica 10, 65–104.Google Scholar
Marsh, LM (1976) Western Australian Asteroidea since H.L. Clark. Thalassia Jugoslavica 12, 213–225.Google Scholar
Marsh, LM (1977) Coral Reef Asteroids of Palau, Caroline Islands. Micronesica 13, 251–281.Google Scholar
Martens, E (1867) Uber ostasiatishce Echinodermen. Fortsetzung. Archiv Für Naturgeschichte 33, 106–119.Google Scholar
McKnight, DG (2006) The marine fauna of New Zealand Echinodermata: Asteroidea (Sea-stars). 3. Orders Velatida, Spinulosida, Forcipulatida, Brisingida with addenda to Paxillosida, Valvatida. NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 120, 1–187.Google Scholar
Meissner, M (1892) Asteriden gesammelt von Herrn Stabsarzt Dr. Sander auf der Reise SMS “Prinz Adalbert.” Archiv Für Naturgeschichte 58, 183–190.Google Scholar
Mortensen, T (1933) Papers from Dr. Th. Mortensen’s Pacific Expedition 1914-16. LXV. Echinoderms of South Africa (Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea). Videnskabelige Meddelelser Fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening I Kobenhavn 93, 215–400.Google Scholar
Müller, J and Troschel, FH (1840) Ueber die Gattungen der Asterien. Archiv Für Naturgeschichte 6, 318–326.Google Scholar
Müller, J and Troschel, FH (1842) Systemder Asteriden. 1. Asteriae. 2. Ophiuridae. Braunschweig: Vieweg.Google Scholar
Naughton, KM and O’Hara, TD (2009) A new brooding species of the biscuit star Tosia (Echinodermata: Asteroidea: Goniasteridae), distinguished by molecular, morphological and larval characters. Invertebrate Systematics 23, 348–366.10.1071/IS08021CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, TMN and Dao, TH (2013) New records of starfishes in Vietnam. Tuyển Tập Nghiên Cứu Biển 19, 176–181.Google Scholar
Palumbi, SR (1994) Genetic divergence, reproductive isolation, and marine speciation. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 25, 547–572.10.1146/annurev.es.25.110194.002555CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perrier, E (1869) Recherches sur les pédicellaires et les ambulacres des astéries et des oursins. Thèses présentées à la Faculté des Sciences de Paris pour obtenir le Grade de Docteur ès Sciences Naturelles. Paris: Victor Masson et Fils.Google Scholar
Perrier, E (1875) Révision de la Collection de Stellérides du Museum D’histoire Naturelle de Paris. Paris: Leinwald.Google Scholar
Perrier, E (1878) Etude sur la repartition geographique des Asterides. Nouvelles Archives du Muséum D’histoire Naturelle 2, 1–108.Google Scholar
Perrier, E (1881) Report on the results of dredging in the Gulf of Mexico and in Caribbean Sea, 1877–79, by the United States Coastal Survey Steamer Blake. 14. Description sommaire des espèces nouvelles d’Astéries. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 9, 1–31.Google Scholar
Perrier, E (1893) Echinoderms. Perrier, E (ed.), Traité de zoologie, pp. Paris: G Masson, pp. 781–864.Google Scholar
Purwati, P and Lane, DJW (2004) Asteroidea of the Anabas Expedition 2002. The Ruffles Bulletin of Zoology 11, 89–102.Google Scholar
Ronquist, F, Teslenko, M, van der Mark, P, Ayres, DL, Darling, A, H€ohna, S, Larget, B, Liu, L, Suchard, MA and Huelsenbeck, JP (2012) MRBAYES 3.2: Efficient Bayesian phylogenetic inference and model selection across a large model space. Systematic Biology 61, 539–542.10.1093/sysbio/sys029CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, FEW and Albertson, EL (1987) A new species in the echinasterid genus Echinaster Müller and Troschel, 1840 (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from southeastern Australia and Norfolk Island. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 109, 195–202.Google Scholar
Rowe, FWE (1974) Catalogue of the Sladen collection in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, Devon. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 6, 179–243.10.1111/j.1095-8312.1974.tb00722.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saba, M, Irimura, S and Soyama, I (2002) Sea Stars and Brittle Stars in Japanese Waters. [in Japanese] Tokyo: TBS Britannica.Google Scholar
Sastry, DRK (2005) Echinodermata of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bay of Bengal: An annotated list. Records of Zoological Survey of India 233, 21–60.Google Scholar
Sladen, WP (1889) The Asteroidea. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger 30, 1–893.Google Scholar
Soota, TD and Sastry, DRK (1979) Notes on two species of Echinaster Müller and Troschel (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the Indian Ocean. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 75, 343–352.10.26515/rzsi/v75/i1-4/1979/161889CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stamatakis, A (2014) RAxML version 8: A tool for phylogenetic analysis and postanalysis of large phylogenies. Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) 30, 1312–1313.Google ScholarPubMed
Tanabe, AS (2011) Kakusan4 and Aminosan: Two programs for comparing nonpartitioned, proportional and separate models for combined molecular phylogenetic analyses of multilocus sequence data. Molecular Ecology Resources 11, 914–921.10.1111/j.1755-0998.2011.03021.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tortonese, E and Downey, ME (1977) On the genera Echinaster Müller and Troschel and Othilia Gray, and the validity of Verrillaster Downey (Echinodermata: Asteroidea). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 90, 829–830.Google Scholar
Turner, RL and Campbell, DB (1981) A redescription of Echinaster modestus Perrier, 1881 (Asteroidea: Spinulosida) from the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 94, 344–351.Google Scholar
VandenSpiegel, D, Lane, DJW, Stampanato, S and Jangoux, M (1998) The asteroid fauna (Echinodermata) of Singapore, with a distribution table and an illustrated identification to the species. The Ruffles Bulletin of Zoology 46, 431–470.Google Scholar
Verrill, AE (1867) Notes on Radiata in the Museum of Yale College, with descriptions of new genera and species. No. 3. On the geographical distribution of the echinoderms of the west coast of America. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 1, 323–351.Google Scholar
Verrill, AE (1914) Monograph of the shallow-water starfishes of the North Pacific coast from the Arctic Ocean to California. Harriman Alaska series: US National Museum 14, 1–408.Google Scholar
Verrill, AE (1915) Report on the starfishes of the West Indies, Florida, and Brazil, including those obtained by the Bahama expedition from the University of Iowa in 1893. Bulletins from the Laboratories of Natural History 7, 1–232.Google Scholar
Viguier, C (1879) Anatomie comparee du squelette des Stellerides. Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale Et Générale 7, 33–250.Google Scholar
Wakita, D, Fujita, T and Kajihara, H (2019) Molecular systematics and morphological analysis of the subgenus Setihenricia (Echinodermata: Asteroidea: Henricia) from Japan. Species Diversity 24, 119–135.10.12782/specdiv.24.119CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walenkamp, JHC (1976) The asteroids of the coastal waters of Surinam. Zoologische Verhandelingen 147, 1–91.Google Scholar
Ward, RD, Holmes, BH and O’Hara, TD (2008) DNA barcoding discriminates echinoderm species. Molecular Ecology Resources 8, 1202–1211.10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02332.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zanol, J, Halanych, KM, Struck, TH and Fauchald, K (2010) Phylogeny of the bristle worm family Eunicidae (Eunicida, Annelida) and the phylogenetic utility of noncongruent 16S, COI and 18S in combined analyses. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 55, 660–676.10.1016/j.ympev.2009.12.024CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed