Atypical sea star of the genus Oreaster (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) found in the Gulf of Batabanó, Cuba

Abstract

Echinoderms are exclusively marine animals with their bodies covered in rigid (calcareous) structures in the form of spines. These deuterostome organisms can colonize any type of marine habitat, and are characterized by pentaradial symmetry, as well as a wide range of sizes and shapes. The presence of Asteroidea class specimens, the second most represented among echinoderms, is lower
in the Caribbean Sea compared to the Gulf of California and the Pacific. In Cuba, a greater number of genera have been described, but there are fewer species (76) within the Asteroidea class. The objective of this study was to visually present a previously unknown specimen, potentially belonging to the Oreaster Müller y Troschel, 1842 genus, within the Asteroidea class. The specimen was collected on September 29, 2019, in Laguna Inglés, part of the Los Canarreos archipelago on the southwestern shelf of Cuba. No bibliographic references were found that report the presence or existence of a specimen with similar characteristics. Only two species, Oreaster clavatus Müller and Troschel, 1842, primarily found in the eastern Atlantic region, and Oreaster reticulatus (Linnaeus, 1758), wich has the widest distribution reported in Cuba to date, were identified as representatives of the genus.