Asteriidae Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
Leptasterias hexactis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Echinodermata |
Class: | Asteroidea |
Order: | Forcipulatida |
Family: | Asteriidae Gray, 1840 [1] |
Type species | |
Asterias rubens Linnaeus, 1758
| |
Diversity | |
39 genera, see text |
The Asteriidae are a diverse family of Asteroidea (sea stars) in the order Forcipulatida. It is one of three families in the order Forcipulatida.
The oldest unambiguous fossils of the family date to the Late Cretaceous.[2]