PBDB Taxon

Basic info	Taxonomic history	Classification	Included Taxa
Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

Sphaeraster

Asteroidea - Valvatida - Sphaerasteridae

Taxonomy

Sphaeraster was named by Quenstedt (1876). It is not extant. Its type is Asterias tabulata.

It was assigned to Sphaerasteridae by Schöndorf (1906), Spencer and Wright (1966) and Gale (2021).

Species

S. tabulatus (syn. Sphaerites juvenis, Asterias annulosa, S. punctatus), Sphaerites nervisequus

Synonyms

Sphaerites was named by Quenstedt (1852). It is not extant.

It was replaced with Sphaeraster by Quenstedt (1876).

It was assigned to Asteroidea by Quenstedt (1852).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1852	Sphaerites Quenstedt
1876	Sphaeraster Quenstedt
1906	Sphaeraster Schöndorf
1966	Sphaeraster Spencer and Wright p. U55
2021	Sphaeraster Gale p. 702

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

Rank	Name	Author
class	Asteroidea
subclass	Ambuloasteroidea
infraclass	Neoasteroidea	()
superorder	Valvatacea
order	Valvatida
family	Sphaerasteridae
genus	Sphaeraster

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. †Sphaeraster Quenstedt 1876

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†Sphaeraster tabulatus Goldfuss 1833

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Invalid names: Asterias annulosa Quenstedt 1876 [synonym], Sphaeraster punctatus Quenstedt 1852 [synonym], Sphaerites juvenis Quenstedt 1852 [synonym]

Invalid names: Sphaerites Quenstedt 1852 [replaced]

Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
A.S. Gale 2021	Large Sphaerasteridae in which the abactinal surface forms a high dome, composed of numerous (450þ) abactinal ossicles which are set in rows with an interradial chevron arrangement and taper towards the ambitus; primary circlet approximately one-third of diameter; larger individuals possess a ring of six to seven spines on the primary abactinal ossicles.

Measurements

No measurements are available

Composition:

high Mg calcitec

Ontogeny:

accretion, addition of partsp

Environment:

marinep

Locomotion:

slow-movingc

Life habit:

low-level epifaunalc

Diet:

carnivorec

Vision:

limitedc

Dispersal:

waterp

Dispersal 2:

planktonicp

Created:

2004-02-28 15:35:10

Modified:

2010-02-09 06:02:08

Source: c = class, p = phylum

References: Aberhan et al. 2004, Aberhan 1992

Age range: base of the Callovian to the top of the Early/Lower Tithonian or 166.10000 to 145.00000 Ma

Collections (3 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Callovian - Oxfordian	166.1 - 157.3	Ukraine	Sphaerites sp. (67868)
Late/Upper Kimmeridgian	155.7 - 150.8	Germany (Baden-Württemberg)	S. granulatus (154138)
Early/Lower Tithonian	150.8 - 145.0	Germany (Baden-Wurttemberg)	S. pustulatus (23887)