Ganeriinae Sladen 1889

Ganeriinae Sladen, 1889

Diagnosis. Abactinal plates, bearing spinelets in most taxa, primarily imbricate to reticulate, plates embedded within membrane or overlain by soft tissue. Marginal plates variably quadrate to flattened and imbricate. Paxillate in Cuenotaster. Actinal plates imbricate, embedded in tissue or abutted, but arranged in chevron-like pattern. Type genus is indicated by *.

Included Taxa: Aleutiaster A.H. Clark 1939, Cuenotaster Thiéry in Koehler, 1920, Cycethra Bell, 1881, * Ganeria Gray, 1847, Perknaster Sladen, 1889, Scotiaster Koehler, 1907, and Vemaster Bernasconi, 1965.

Comments. The Ganeriidae were originally described as a subfamily within the Asterinidae (Sladen 1889) but was later separated and elevated to family status by Fisher (1911). Fisher (1919) proceeded to include Hyalinothrix within the Ganeriidae, which was morphologically distinct from the more typological ganeriids, such as Ganeria and Cycethra as outlined by Sladen (1889).

Ganeriidae are poorly studied outside of Antarctica. Some genera, such as Perknaster have been studied for their ecological roles (e.g., McClintock et al. 2000), but most non-Antarctic taxa (e.g., Hyalinothrix) are known primarily from taxonomic literature (e.g., Fisher 1911).

The Ganeriidae within the Asterinidae. Recent molecular work in asteroid phylogeny has revealed relatively close phylogenetic relationships between the Asterinidae, the Ganeriidae, and more distantly the Solasteridae (Mah & Foltz 2011; Matsubara et al. 2004). Work by Mah & Foltz (2011) suggests a polyphyletic Ganeriidae with clades nestled within the greater clade containing the Asterinidae. The ganeriids, such as Cycethra Bell, 1881 and Perknaster Sladen, 1889, which more closely resemble the type genus Ganeria Gray 1847 form with Cuenotaster, a distinct clade from the more “paxillate ganeriids” such as Tarachaster which is also included in the Asterinidae but on a separate clade.

Nepanthia grangei McKnight, 2001, which was reconstructed as the sister clade to Tarachaster tenuis Fisher 1913, was likely misclassified and is best assigned to Hyalinothrix. This group, including Tarachaster and Hyalinothrix is herein designated the Hyalinothricinae, following a prior hypothesis of similarity discussed by Fisher (1911).