Taxonomy and phylogeny of the ‘football stars’ (Asteroidea, Sphaerasteridae)

The phylogenetic relationships of spherical and sub-spherical asteroids, belonging to the valvatidan family Sphaerasteridae (Early Jurassic–Recent), are revised in the light of abundant new fossil material from Europe and North Africa. The family had radiated by the Early Jurassic and the family Stauranderasteridae is its sister group. Morphological changes involved the formation of a domed body, the absence of differentiated marginal ossicles and the transformation of dorsal abactinal ossicles into a tessellation of large, thin plates. The family Podosphaerasteridae is placed in synonomy with the Sphaerasteridae. New taxa include <i>Eosphaeraster amellagensis</i> gen. et sp. nov., <i>Bulbosphaeraster valettei</i> gen. et sp. nov., <i>Pouzaster pocknotata</i> gen. et sp. nov., <i>Rugosphaeraster rugenensis</i> gen. et sp. nov., <i>Echinosphaeraster</i> gen. nov. (type species: <i>Asterias scutata</i> Goldfuss, 1833) and <i>Valettaster thuyi</i> sp. nov. It is suggested that the morphology of Sphaerasteridae is related to their close association with sponges. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F8991F09-B5FB-40EF-B4CC-474D925085B8