Carniaster orchardi new genus and species (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), the first triassic asteroid from the western hemisphere

Carniaster orchardi n. gen. and sp. (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) is only the fourth Triassic asteroid known from material complete enough to warrant a generic name. Data indicating familial and ordinal positions are not available. All four Triassic genera belong to the exclusively post-Paleozoic crown group. Carniaster does not appear to differ significantly from other described Triassic genera, and it probably represents a broadly basal lineage within the crown group diversification. Available morphological data suggest no ecologic parameters that would be unusual among living asteroids. Carniaster is the first complete Triassic asteroid known from beyond Europe.