PBDB Taxon

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Protaster

Ophiuroidea - Oegophiurida - Protasteridae

Taxonomy

Protaster was named by Forbes (1849) [Sepkoski's age data: O Cara-m C Tour]. Its type is Protaster sedgwickii. It is the type genus of Protasteridae.

It was assigned to Oegophiurida by Sepkoski (2002); and to Protasteridae by Schuchert (1915), Spencer (1934), Owen (1965), Spencer and Wright (1966), Haude and Thomas (1983), Hammann and Schmincke (1986), Dean Shackleton (2005) and Blake et al. (2016).

Species

Bohemura granifer, Bohemura jahni, P. bicatenulata, P. groomi, P. piltonensis, P. salteri (syn. P. groomi), P. sedgwickii (syn. P. biforis) (type species), P. stellifer, P. ubaghsi, Urosoma hirudo (syn. Taeniaster meafordensis)

Synonyms

Bohemura was named by Jaekel (1903) [Sepkoski's age data: O Cara-m C Tour Sepkoski's reference number: 2]. Its type is Bohemura jahni.

It was synonymized subjectively with Protaster by Dean Shackleton (2005).

It was assigned to Protasteridae by Schuchert (1915), Spencer (1934), Owen (1965), Spencer and Wright (1966) and Hammann and Schmincke (1986); and to Oegophiurida by Sepkoski (2002).
Urosoma was named by Spencer (1930) [Sepkoski's age data: O m D u]. It is not extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Protaster by Dean Shackleton (2005).

It was assigned to Euzonosomatidae by Spencer (1930); to Encrinasteridae by Owen (1965) and Spencer and Wright (1966); to Encrinasterinae by Harper and Morris (1978); and to Oegophiurida by Sepkoski (2002).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1849	Protaster Forbes figs. pl. 4 fig. 1, 2
1903	Bohemura Jaekel p. 111
1915	Bohemura Schuchert p. 223
1915	Protaster Schuchert pp. 224-226 figs. text-fig. 23
1930	Urosoma Spencer
1934	Protaster Spencer pp. 456-457
1934	Bohemura Spencer pp. 472-476
1965	Protaster Owen p. 549
1965	Bohemura Owen p. 550
1965	Urosoma Owen p. 553
1966	Bohemura Spencer and Wright p. U87
1966	Protaster Spencer and Wright p. U87
1966	Urosoma Spencer and Wright p. U87
1978	Urosoma Harper and Morris p. 156
1983	Protaster Haude and Thomas p. 124
1986	Bohemura Hammann and Schmincke p. 61
1986	Protaster Hammann and Schmincke p. 61
2002	Bohemura Sepkoski
2002	Protaster Sepkoski
2002	Urosoma Sepkoski
2005	Protaster Dean Shackleton p. 88
2016	Protaster Blake et al. p. 176

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
—	Ambulacraria
phylum	Echinodermata
subphylum	Eleutherozoa

Rank	Name	Author
—	Asterozoa	()
class	Ophiuroidea
order	Oegophiurida
suborder	Lysophiurina	()
family	Protasteridae
genus	Protaster

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. †Protaster Forbes 1849

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†Protaster bicatenulata Ruedemann 1916

†Protaster groomi Spencer and Groom 1934

†Protaster piltonensis Spencer 1934

†Protaster salteri Salter and Sowerby 1845

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Invalid names: Protaster groomi Sollas and Sollas 1912 [synonym]

†Protaster sedgwickii Forbes 1849

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Invalid names: Protaster biforis Gregory 1897 [synonym]

†Protaster stellifer Ringueberg 1886

†Protaster ubaghsi Haude and Thomas 1983

Invalid names: Bohemura Jaekel 1903 [synonym], Urosoma Spencer 1930 [synonym]

Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
W. Hammann and S. Schmincke 1986 (Bohemura)	Disc: plates stellate; marginals and spines small; madreporite stellate. Arms: whip-shaped; ambulacrals dorsally quadrate, ventrally stout, boot-shaped; laterals ear-shaped; broad with protruding oral edge; 6(?) slender grooved vertical spines; 6(?) groove spines.
W. Hammann and S. Schmincke 1986	Disc: plate rhomboidal; no marginals and spines; madreporite smooth. Arms: tips not preserved in type; ambulacrals dorsally quadrate, ventral stout, boot-shaped; laterals ear-shaped; groove and vertical spines not seen.
J. Dean Shackleton 2005	Conspicuous interradial disc, elongate gradually tapering arms, oral disc plate sub-polygonal, aboral plates with large epispire gaps (often in rows). Disc plates apparently ot spine beraing in type, although oral disc plates spine bearing in other species; overlain by granules. Rounded madreporite with single large channel, oral, interradial, in type contacting adambulacral paire with second recognisable arm ambulacral. Thickened marginal rim; marginal absent. Ambulacral ossicles alternate over the mid-line, perradial suture slightly zigzag aborally, straight orally. Aboral ambulacral quadrate, with relatively conspicuous ridg-bounded indentations presumably for longitudinal muscle insertion. Oral ambulacral surface with prominent boot-shape and distal facet for logitudinal ambulacral articulation; grooe crosses distal surface from podial region to perradius, circular hell depression on ambulacrals. Podial basin large, broader then long in proximal arm. Ambulacral ossicles sicke-shaped, with distal and proximal pads and conspicuous nose, reduce in size proximally. Groove spines present, articulating to oral adambulacral ridge. Stout mouth angle bearing row of lateral teeth. Strong aboral jaw 'v' formed by first and second jaw ossicles overrides distally adjacent ambulacrals slightly.