Stegnaster inflatus
Encyclopedia
Stegnaster inflatus, or the New Zealand cushion star, is a sea star
of the family
Echinasteridae
, endemic
to New Zealand
.
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...
of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Echinasteridae
Echinasteridae
Echinasteridae is a family of sea stars in the order Spinulosida.-Genera:* Echinaster Müller and Troschel, 1840 * Henricia Gray, 1840 * Odontohenricia Rowe and Albertson, 1988 * Poraniopsis Perrier, 1891 * Stegnaster Sladen, 1889...
, endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.