VELATIDA Since Blake (1987), the Velatida have been shown significant taxonomic restriction, ultimately following Mah and Foltz (2011a, b) and Linchangco et al. (2018) showing the Korethrasteridae, Myxasteridae and the Pterasteridae on a stemward branch within the Asteroidea, separating these three groups from earlier paraphyletic assemblages, such as the Spinulosida. Although the Velatida have been supported by molecular data (Linchangco et al. 2018), formal taxonomic documentation remains to be completed. Members of this group are distinguished by the weakly developed skeleton, which is nearly absent, save for the ambulacral and oral endoskeletal systems, reduced or absent marginal plates, and paxillae, osculum and supra dorsal membrane present in most.

Published as part of Mah, Christopher L., 2020, New species, occurrence records and observations of predation by deep-sea Asteroidea (Echinodermata) from the North Atlantic by NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer, pp. 201-260 in Zootaxa 4766 (2) on page 243, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4766.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3764018