''Luidia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

starfish Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

Characteristics

Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips fringed with spines. Their upper surfaces are covered with paxillae, pillar-like spines with flattened summits covered with minute spinules. The upper marginal plates are replaced by paxillae, but the lower marginal plates are large and covered with paxillae. The

tube feet Tube or tubes may refer to: * Tube (2003 film), ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM#Tubes, Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/e ...

do not have suckers, but have two swollen regions. A mouth, oesophagus, and cardiac stomach are seen, but no pyloric stomach or anus is present. The

gonad A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a Heterocrine gland, mixed gland and sex organ that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gon ...

s are underneath the sides of each arm. The early

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

l stages of starfish are known as

bipinnaria A bipinnaria is the first stage in the larval development of most starfish, and is usually followed by a brachiolaria stage. Movement and feeding is accomplished by the bands of cilia. Starfish that brood their young generally lack a bipinnaria sta ...

l larvae, and members of this genus do not continue their development after this stage into a brachiolar stage before undergoing

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth transformation or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and different ...

. However, they are capable of larval

cloning Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical genomes, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction; this reproduction of an organism by itself without ...

, with

asexual reproduction Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the f ...

taking place while they are larvae. This has been shown to take place both in the field and in laboratory cultures and has been studied by molecular analysis of

sequences In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is call ...

of mitochondrial

tRNA Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA), formerly referred to as soluble ribonucleic acid (sRNA), is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 76 to 90 nucleotides in length (in eukaryotes). In a cell, it provides the physical link between the gene ...

to identify the

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

involved.Identification of Asteroid Genera With Species Capable of Larval Cloning
Retrieved 2011-08-29.

Species

, the following species are recognized by the World Register of Marine Species: *''

Luidia alternata ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips frin ...

'' – banded sea star *''

Luidia amurensis ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips frin ...

'' *''

Luidia armata ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips frin ...

'' *''

Luidia aspera ''Luidia magnifica'', the magnificent star, is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean. Description The magnificent star usually has 10 long, tapering arms with pointed tips though there are occasionall ...

'' *''

Luidia asthenosoma ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips frin ...

'' *''

Luidia atlantidea ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips frin ...

'' *''

Luidia australiae ''Luidia australiae'', the southern sand star, is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean around Australia and New Zealand. Description ''Luidia australiae'' has a variable number of long, slim, tapering ...

'' *''

Luidia avicularia ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips frin ...

'' *''

Luidia barbadensis ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the Family (biology), family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with ...

'' *'' Luidia bellonae'' *'' Luidia changi'' *'' Luidia ciliaris'' – seven-armed star *''

Luidia clathrata ''Luidia clathrata'' is a tropical species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is variously known as the slender-armed starfish, the gray sea star, or the lined sea star. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean. Description ''Luidia clat ...

'' – slender-armed starfish, gray sea star, lined sea star *'' Luidia columbia'' *'' Luidia denudata'' *'' Luidia difficilis'' *'' Luidia ferruginea'' *''

Luidia foliolata ''Luidia foliolata'', the sand star, is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean on sandy and muddy seabeds at depths to about . Description The sand star has a small disc and five long, flattened ar ...

'' – spiny mudstar, leafy flat star, sand star *'' Luidia gymnochora'' *'' Luidia hardwicki'' *'' Luidia herdmani'' *'' Luidia heterozona'' *'' Luidia hexactis'' *'' Luidia inarmata'' *'' Luidia integra'' *''

Luidia iwakiensis ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips frin ...

*'' Luidia latiradiata'' *'' Luidia lawrencei'' *'' Luidia longispina'' *'' Luidia ludwigi'' *'' Luidia maculata'' *'' Luidia magellanica'' *''

Luidia magnifica ''Luidia magnifica'', the magnificent star, is a species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean. Description The magnificent star usually has 10 long, tapering arms with pointed tips though there are occasionally ...

'' – magnificent star *'' Luidia mauritiensis'' *'' Luidia neozelanica'' *''

Luidia orientalis ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the Family (biology), family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with ...

'' *'' Luidia patriae'' *'' Luidia penangensis'' *'' Luidia phragma'' *'' Luidia porteri'' *'' Luidia prionota'' *'' Luidia quinaria'' – spiny sand sea star *''

Luidia sagamina ''Luidia'' is a genus of starfish in the family Luidiidae in which it is the only genus. Species of the family have a cosmopolitan distribution. Characteristics Members of the genus are characterised by having long arms with pointed tips frin ...

'' *'' Luidia sarsii'' *'' Luidia savignyi'' *''

Luidia senegalensis ''Luidia senegalensis'', the nine-armed sea star, is a tropical species of starfish in the family Luidiidae found in the western Atlantic Ocean. Description The nine-armed sea star has long, slim tapering arms attached to a small circular cent ...

'' – nine-armed sea star *'' Luidia sibogae'' *'' Luidia superba'' – giant sea star *'' Luidia tessellata'' *'' Luidia yesoensis'' Gulf Shores, Alabama, 2015 Luidia alternata.jpg, ''

'' Luidia atlantidea (MNHN-IE-2014-622).jpg, ''

'' (

MNHN The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the ...

) Luidia australiae.jpg, ''

''. Luidia cilliaris 01 Espen Rekdal.jpg, '' Luidia cilliaris'' Luidia clathrata.jpg, ''

''. Luida columbia, dorsal view.jpg, '' Luida columbia''. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary 2010 Luidia foliolata.jpg, ''

'' Luidia heterozona.jpg, '' Luidia heterozona''. Luida latiradiata, dorsal view.jpg, '' Luida latiradiata''. Luidia lawrencei (USNM 6923) 001.jpeg, '' Luidia lawrencei''. Luidia ludwigi scotti.jpg, '' Luidia ludwigi''. Eight-armed sand star (Luidia maculata).jpg, '' Luidia maculata''. Luidia magellanica.jpg, '' Luidia magellanica'' Luidia_magnifica_mouth.jpg, ''

'' (oral face). MA I317851 TePapa Luidia-neozelanica-Mortensen full.jpg, '' Luidia neozelanica'' Luidia porteri (USNM 36947) 001.jpeg, '' Luidia porteri''. Luidia quinaria.jpg, '' Luidia quinaria'' Luidia sagamina aciculata (11714484256).jpg, ''

'' Luidia sarsi 01 Espen Rekdal.jpg, '' Luidia sarsi''. Luidia savignyi (Audouin, 1826).jpg, '' Luidia savignyi''. Nine-armed Sea Star (Luidia senegalensis) (4338628827).jpg, ''

'' Luida superba, dorsal view.jpg, '' Luidia superba''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3200764 Asteroidea genera Taxa named by Edward Forbes