Forcipulatida
The Forcipulatida are an order of sea stars, containing three families and 49 genera.Description
Forcipulatids share with the brisingid sea stars distinctive pedicellariae, consisting of a short stalk with three skeletal ossicles. Unlike that group, however, the forcipulatids tend to have more robust bodies. The order includes some well-known species, such as the common starfish, Asterias rubens.Phylogeny
The order is divided into three families:
World Register of Marine Species gives another taxonomy, with 7 families and 64 genera:
A 2020 study involving phylogenetic analysis and scanning electron microscopy of the skeleton and ossicles of taxa from the superorder Forcipulatacea recovered Asteriidae, Stichasteridae, Zoroasteridae, and Brisingida as monophyletic.
