Patiriella regularis
Overview
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...
of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Asterinidae
Asterinidae
Asterinidae is a large family of sea stars in the order Valvatida. It contains twenty-five genera.-Genera:*Ailsastra O'Loughlin & Rowe, 2005*Allopatiria Verrill, 1913*Anseropoda Nardo, 1834...
, endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It has an armspread of up to 60 mm.
Research has shown that there is a genetic variance in Patiriella regularis from the North and South of New Zealand. Researchers assume that geographic barriers, and coastal upwelling
Upwelling
Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water. The increased availability in upwelling regions results in high levels of primary...
s, might keep various types of Patiriella regularis from being able to spread or comingle.
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