Family Heliasteridae Viguier 1878 (sea star)
Asteroidea - Forcipulatida - Heliasteridae
Full reference: C. Viguier. 1878. Classification des Stellérides. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences 84:681-683
Parent taxon: Forcipulatida according to D. B. Blake 1989
See also Gale 2011, Mah and Blake 2012, Perrier 1893 and Spencer and Wright 1966
Sister taxa: Asteriadina, Asteriidae, Brisingida, Labidiasteridae, Neomorphasteridae, Pedicellasteridae, Psammaster, Stichasteridae, Zoroasteridae
Subtaxa: Heliaster
Ecology: slow-moving low-level epifaunal carnivore
Distribution:
• Pliocene of United States (2: Florida collections)
Total: 2 collections each including a single occurrence