Comatulidae

Comatulidae
Anneissia bennetti
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Crinoidea
Subclass: Articulata
Order: Comatulida
Superfamily: Comatuloidea
Family: Comatulidae
Fleming, 1928
Genera

see text

Comatulidae is a family of comatulid crinoids. Since 2015, it replaces the family Comasteridae.[1]

Description and characteristics

This family is of recent restoration, and still has no consensual description. However the description of the family Comasteridae remains partially valid.

This family counts between 93 and 95 species, distributed in 21 genera,[2] which makes it the second most diversified family of crinoids the behind Antedonidae, representing approximately 1/6th of known crinoid species. It contains most of the big species of shallow tropical feather stars, in particular in the Indo-Pacific.[2]

List of genera

This family has been recently restaured following genetic works from Charles Messing's team.[2]

It contains the following genera:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Messing, Charles (2012). "Comatulidae". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  2. 1 2 3 Summers, M. M.; Messing, C. G.; Rouse, G. W. (2014). "Phylogeny of Comatulidae (Echinodermata: Crinoidea: Comatulida): A new classification and an assessment of morphological characters for crinoid taxonomy". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 80: 319–339. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.06.030.
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