An unusual new asteriid (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the Cretaceous of California

Pegaster stichos n.gen. and sp., from the Cretaceous Chico Formation of Northern California, is the first-known fossil representative of the hitherto monogeneric Neomorphasterinae (Asteroidea: Asteriidae). Pegaster is morphologically similar to living Neomorphaster, again demonstrating the conservative evolution noted elsewhere among asteroids. Pegaster probably lived in a shallow shelf environment subject to strong storm action whereas Neomorphaster is known only from considerably greater depths; Pegaster provides a new example of an asteroid taxon excluded from shallower habitats through time. -Authors