Heliaster solaris
Encyclopedia
Heliaster solaris commonly known as 24-rayed Sunstar is a possible extinct Sea star
which was known from the waters near Española Island
in the Galápagos Islands
.
plate were light yellowish.
in 1840 in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History as Asterias multiradiata and later as Heliaster multiradiatus. Due to the fact that Carl Linnaeus used the name Asterias multiradiata (current accepted name: Capillaster multiradiata) already in 1758 Gray's name became an invalid homonym. In 1920 Austin Hobart Clark
published the replacement name Heliaster solaris.
event which effected the Galapagos Islands in the early 1980s.
Sea star
Starfish or sea stars are echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. The names "starfish" and "sea star" essentially refer to members of the class Asteroidea...
which was known from the waters near Española Island
Española Island
Española Island is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it Hood Island after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Santa Fe, one of the oldest, at approximately four million years...
in the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
.
Description
Heliaster solaris had 22 to 24 cylindrical and elongated more or less distinctly banded rays which were tapering at the ends. They were one third longer than the diameter of the body. The dorsal rows of the spines were longer and more compressed. The spines, pedicellariae, and the madreporicMadreporite
The madreporite is a lightcolored calcerous opening used to filter water into the water vascular system of echinoderms. It acts like a pressure-equalizing valve. It is visible as a small red or yellow button-like structure, looking like a small wart, on the aboral surface of the central disk of a...
plate were light yellowish.
Taxonomy
This species was first mentioned by John Edward GrayJohn Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
in 1840 in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History as Asterias multiradiata and later as Heliaster multiradiatus. Due to the fact that Carl Linnaeus used the name Asterias multiradiata (current accepted name: Capillaster multiradiata) already in 1758 Gray's name became an invalid homonym. In 1920 Austin Hobart Clark
Austin Hobart Clark
Austin Hobart Clark was an American zoologist. He was born in Wellesley, Massachusetts and died in Washington, D.C...
published the replacement name Heliaster solaris.
Extinction
Heliaster solaris disappeared during the El Niño-Southern OscillationEl Niño-Southern Oscillation
El Niño/La Niña-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is a quasiperiodic climate pattern that occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean roughly every five years...
event which effected the Galapagos Islands in the early 1980s.