A Newly Recorded Sea Star of the Genus Marginaster (Asteroidea: Valvatida: Poraniidae) from the Korea Strait, Korea

Abstract

A sea star was collected from the Korea Strait in the waters adjacent to eastern Jeju Island, Korea (33°39′86′′N, 127°33′12′′E) at a depth of 92 m on November 5, 2016. This specimen was identified as Marginaster paucispinus Fisher, 1913, from the family Poraniidae of the order Valvatida, based on morphological characteristics. The genus Marginaster Perrier, 1881 and M. paucispinus, which were first reported in the South China Sea, are new to the Korean fauna. Partial sequences of mitochondrial COI and 16S ribosomal RNA of M. paucispinus were have been determined for the first time and were deposited in GenBank. They are the first molecular records for the genus Marginaster.