Verrill, 1909: 63; Fisher, 1911: 224; HL Clark, 1913: 194; Goto, 1914: 349; Verrill, 1914: 301; Djakonov, 1950: 53 (1968: 45); Baranova, 1957: 162; Alton, 1966: 1702; Carey, 1972: 38, 39; Lambert, 1978a: 4, 14; Maluf, 1988: 34, 118; Clark, 1993: 259; Lambert, 2000: 64.
Occurrence: Southern California, British Columbia, to Bering Sea. Okhotsk Sea off Cape Elizavety, and near the Kurile Islands. 49–1170 m.
Comments: This species forms an extensive species complex throughout the Aleutian and North Pacific sub-Arctic region similar in several ways to Leptasterias and other wide ranging high-latitude species. This extensive variation is likely to encompass all of the species described by Djakonov (1950 translated in Dyakonov, 1968) from the Okhotsk Sea and adjoining regions, including H. mammifera, H. pedicellaris, H. colossa, and H. kurilensis. These are mentioned here for future discussion but type specimens have not been examined.
Material examined: USNM 32470, west of San Nicolas Island, 33°13′N, 120°4′W, 825 m, coll. USFC Albatross, 26.iv.1911. (1 dry spec. R = 0.9, r = 0.4). USNM 33352 south-west of Cape Flattery, Washington. 48°17′N 124°52′W, 70 m. Coll. USFC Albatross 24.ix.1888 (1 dry spec. R = 8.2, r = 4.3); USNM 39833 Heceta Bank, Oregon, 43°58′N, 124°36′W, 170 m. Coll. USFC Albatross 1.ix.1889. (1 dry spec. R = 9.2, r = 4.7). USNM 47600 Umnak Island, Islands of Four Mountains, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. 53°3′N, 169°57′W, 146 m. Coll. R/V Harvester 11.viii.1980. (1 dry spec. R = 7.1, r = 3.5); USNM E10504. South-west of mouth of Columbia River, Oregon. 46°8′N 124°30′W, 137 m. Coll. R/V Cobb 14.i.1964. (1 dry spec. R = 12.8, r = 7.1).