Asteroidea - Valvatida - Sphaerasteridae
Full reference: F. Schöndorf. 1906. Das Genus Sphaeraster und seine Beziehungen zu rezenten Seesternen. Jahresbericht des Vereins für Naturkunde 59:251-256
Parent taxon: Valvatida according to A.S. Gale 2021
See also Blake 1989, Spencer and Wright 1966 and Villier 2010
Sister taxa: Acanthasteridae, Archasteridae, Asteriaceros, Asterinidae, Asterodiscididae, Asteropseidae, Chaetasteridae, Ganeriidae, Geinitzaster, Goniasteridae, Goniasteroidea, Granulosina, Leptaster, Mithrodiidae, Odontasteridae, Ophidiasteridae, Oreasteridae, Poraniidae, Pycinasteridae, Stauranderasteridae, Tumulosina
Subtaxa: Bulbosphaeraster Echinosphaeraster Eosphaeraster Pouzaster Rugosphaeraster Sphaeraster Testudinaster Valettaster
Ecology: slow-moving low-level epifaunal carnivore
Distribution:
• Paleocene of Denmark (1 collection)
• Cretaceous to Paleogene of the Netherlands (1)
• Cretaceous of Belgium (2), the Czech Republic (2), France (20), Germany (1), the Netherlands (3), the United Kingdom (1)
• Jurassic of France (1), Germany (2), Switzerland (1), Ukraine (1)
Total: 36 collections including 42 occurrences