Biodiversity, bathymetric distribution, and reproductive strategies of sea stars (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) in the Argentine Sea

ALARCÓN SAAVEDRA, ARIANA B.; HUENTEN, DANIELA; ARRIBAS, LORENA; BROGGER, MARTÍN I.

Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, nueva serie

Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2025 vol. 27 p. 95 - 108

1853-0400

Sea stars (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) are widely distributed across all oceans, with numerous speciesinhabiting the Argentine Sea. This region is highly productive and sustains a rich diversity of marine inverte-brates. The present work aimed to conduct a comprehensive bibliographic until 2024 review focusing on thebiodiversity of Asteroidea in the different marine environments of Argentina and the reproductive strategiesof sea stars inhabiting the Argentine Sea. This study focused on the geographic region from the Río de la Platato the Burdwood Bank. We identified 105 species of sea stars, grouped into six orders, 19 families, and 60 gen -era. Valvatida and Forcipulatida were the most diverse orders. We noted a prevalence of sea stars in intermedi-ate waters (50–500 m), being present across a wide range of temperatures. Regarding reproduction, our resultsshowed that most of the brooding species were located exclusively in cold and intermediate waters, while broad-cast spawner species exhibited a broad distribution from shallow to intermediate waters. This review highlightsgaps in reproductive data for most species, as most studies in Argentina focus on identifying species from shallowrather than deeper waters. Enhancing sampling efforts and updating the biological information of these specieswill likely address these gaps in knowledge, especially in deeper areas where sampling is more challenging. Ourresults contribute to updating the knowledge of Asteroidea diversity in the Argentine Sea.