Forcipulatida is an order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 of sea star

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...

s.

Forcipulatids share with the Brisingid

Brisingida

Brisingida are an order of deep-sea dwelling sea stars.-Description:These starfish have between 6 and 16 long, attenuated arms which they use for suspension feeding...

 sea stars distinctive pedicellariae, consisting of a short stalk with three skeletal ossicles. Unlike that group, however, the forcipulatids tend to have a more robust body. The order includes some well-known species, such as the common starfish

Common starfish

The Common Starfish or Common Sea Star is the most common and familiar starfish in the north-east Atlantic. It has five arms and usually grows to between 10–30 cm across, although larger specimens are known. The Common Starfish is usually orange or brown, and sometimes violet;...

, Asterias rubens.

The order is divided into three families:

• Family Asteriidae
  Asteriidae
  Asteriidae is a family of Asteroidea in the order Forcipulatida.-Genera:Genera within the family Asteriidae include:* Ampheraster Fisher, 1923 * Anteliaster Fisher, 1923 * Aphanasterias * Asterias Linnaeus, 1758...
  
  
• Family Heliasteridae
• Family Zoroasteridae