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<DIV datatype="" rel="dc:type" href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text"
xpathLocation="noSelect" property="dc:title"><FONT size=4>Global Diversity and
Phylogeny of the Asteroidea (Echinodermata)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="DISPLAY: none; VISIBILITY: hidden" datatype=""
property="dc:description"><A
href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035644">http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035644</A></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN rel="dc:creator"><SPAN property="foaf:name">Christopher L.
Mah</SPAN></SPAN><SUP><A
href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035644#aff1">1</A></SUP><SUP>,</SUP><SUP><A
href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035644#aff2">2</A></SUP><SUP><A
class=fnoteref
href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035644#cor1">*</A></SUP>,
<SPAN rel="dc:creator"><SPAN property="foaf:name">Daniel B.
Blake</SPAN></SPAN><SUP><A
href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0035644#aff3">3</A></SUP></DIV>
<DIV class=affiliations xpathLocation="noSelect"><A id=aff1
name=aff1></A><STRONG>1</STRONG> Department of Invertebrate Zoology, National
Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of
Columbia, United States of America, <A id=aff2 name=aff2></A><STRONG>2</STRONG>
Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana, United States of Ameica, <A id=aff3 name=aff3></A><STRONG>3</STRONG>
Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana,
Illinois, United States of America. E-mail: <A
href="mailto:mahch@si.edu">mahch@si.edu</A></DIV>
<DIV class=abstract
xpathLocation="/article[1]/front[1]/article-meta[1]/abstract[1]"><A id=abstract0
title=Abstract name=abstract0 toc="abstract0"></A> </DIV>
<DIV xpathLocation="noSelect"><STRONG>Abstract </STRONG></DIV>
<DIV class=abstract
xpathLocation="/article[1]/front[1]/article-meta[1]/abstract[1]">
<P xpathLocation="/article[1]/front[1]/article-meta[1]/abstract[1]/p[1]">Members
of the Asteroidea (phylum Echinodermata), popularly known as starfish or sea
stars, are ecologically important and diverse members of marine ecosystems in
all of the world's oceans. We present a comprehensive overview of diversity and
phylogeny as they have figured into the evolution of the Asteroidea from
Paleozoic to the living fauna. Living post-Paleozoic asteroids, the
Neoasteroidea, are morphologically separate from those in the Paleozoic. Early
Paleozoic asteroid faunas were diverse and displayed morphology that
foreshadowed later living taxa. Preservation presents significant difficulties,
but fossil occurrence and current accounts suggests a diverse Paleozoic fauna,
which underwent extinction around the Permian-Triassic interval was followed by
re-diversification of at least one surviving lineage. Ongoing phylogenetic
classification debates include the status of the Paxillosida and the
Concentricycloidea. Fossil and molecular evidence has been and continues to be
part of the ongoing evolution of asteroid phylogenetic research. The modern
lineages of asteroids include the Valvatacea, the Forcipulatacea, the
Spinlosida, and the Velatida. We present an overview of diversity in these taxa,
as well as brief notes on broader significance, ecology, and functional
morphology of each. Although much asteroid taxonomy is stable, many new taxa
remain to be discovered with many new species currently awaiting description.
The Goniasteridae is currently one of the most diverse families within the
Asteroidea. New data from molecular phylogenetics and the advent of global
biodiversity databases, such as the World Asteroidea Database (<A
href="http://www.marinespecies.org/Asteroidea/">http://www.marinespecies.org/Asteroidea/</A>)
present important new springboards for understanding the global biodiversity and
evolution of asteroids.</P></DIV></FONT><BR>
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