Parvulastra

Parvulastra is a genus of starfish belonging to the family Asterinidae.^[2][3] The species of this genus are found in Southern Hemisphere.^[1][3]

Parvulastra
Parvulastra exigua
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Echinodermata
Class:	Asteroidea
Order:	Valvatida
Family:	Asterinidae
Genus:	Parvulastra O'Loughlin, 2004[1]

The genus shows an unusual reproductive mode within Asterinidae: Parvulastra parvivipara and Parvulastra vivipara are viviparous. Prior to their description as distinct species, they were considered variants of Parvulastra exigua, which has free-living (but non-feeding) larvae.^[4]

Species

There are five species:^[2][3]

• Parvulastra calcarata (Perrier, 1869)
• Parvulastra dyscrita (H.L. Clark, 1923)
• Parvulastra exigua (Lamarck, 1816)
• Parvulastra parvivipara (Keough & Dartnall, 1978)
• Parvulastra vivipara (Dartnall, 1969)