Nymphaster Sladen, 1889

Mah, Christopher L., 2016, Deep-sea (> 1000 m) Goniasteridae (Valvatida; Asteroidea) from the North Pacific, including an overview of Sibogaster, Bathyceramaster n. gen. and three new species, Zootaxa 4175 (2), pp. 101-141 : 123

Nymphaster Sladen, 1889

Sladen 1885: 612 (nomen nudum; diagnosed but no species named); 1889: 294; Fisher 1917: 167; 1919: 261; Spencer & Wright 1966: U62; Halpern 1970: 222; 1970: 88; Downey in Clark & Downey 1992: 253 (as Nymphaster ) Perrier 1885: 39; 1894: 365; Koehler 1909: 54 (Non Dorigona Gray 1866 )

Comments. Nymphaster is a widely occurring goniasterid, including 16 species, present on shelf and bathyal settings in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Only one species, N. arenatus is known from the Atlantic ( Clark & Downey 1992). However, when one accounts for the disproportionate amount of taxonomic work which has been devoted to Atlantic asteroids (e.g, Downey 1973, Halpern 1970, etc.) versus the relatively few accounts of Indo-Pacific taxa ( Fisher 1919) as well as the large number of synonyms of the Atlantic N. arenatus ( Clark & Downey 1992) it seems likely that this number does not accurately mirror true diversity within the group. An overview of all species will be needed before an accurate accounting of all Nymphaster species can be attempted.