Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5632 No. 2: 7 May 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-05-07
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5632.2.6
Page range: 325-336
Abstract views: 64
PDF downloaded: 3

New species of the asteroid genus Haccourtaster Jagt, 2000 (Echinodermata, Goniasteridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom

School of the Environment and Life Sciences; University of Portsmouth; Burnaby Building; Burnaby Road; Portsmouth PO1 3QL; UK; Department of Earth Sciences; The Natural History Museum; Cromwell Road; London SW7 5BD; UK
Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht; de Bosquetplein 6–7; 6211 KJ Maastricht; the Netherlands
Echinodermata Asteroidea Goniasteridae Upper Cretaceous Europe taxonomic revision

Abstract

Three new species of the small Late Cretaceous goniasterid genus Haccourtaster are described, viz. H. berryensis sp. nov. from the lower Turonian of Devon (UK), H. nattestadae sp. nov. from the lower Coniacian of Bornholm (Denmark) and H. liticola sp. nov. from the lower Campanian of Ivö Klack (southern Sweden). Species are differentiated on surface sculpture of the marginal ossicles. Members of this genus evidently preferred high-energy, nearshore environments, but are also found, albeit less commonly, in deeper-water chalk facies.

 

References

  1. Breton, G. (1988) Description d’espèces nouvelles de Goniasteridae (Asteroidea, Echinodermata) du Crétacé de France. Bulletin trimestriel de la Société géologique de Normandie et des Amis du Muséum du Havre, 75 (1), 9–40.
  2. Breton, G. (1992) Les Goniasteridae (Asteroidea, Echinodermata) jurassiques et crétacés de France. Taphonomie, systématique, biostratigraphie, paléobiogéographie, évolution. Bulletin de la Société géologique de Normandie et des Amis du Muséum du Havre, Hors-Série, Supplement 78 (4), 1–590, pls. 1–48.
  3. Christensen, W.K. & Schulz, M.-G. (1997) Coniacian and Santonian belemnite fauna from Bornholm, Denmark. Fossils and Strata, 44, 1–73. https://doi.org/10.18261/8200376958-1997-01
  4. Cottreau, J. (1937) Un Stélleride de la Craie de Meudon (Seine-et-Oise). Compte Rendu sommaire des Séances de la Société géologique de France, 1937, 7–8.
  5. Crump, R.G. & Emson, R.H. (1983) The natural history, life history and ecology of two British species of Asterina. Field Studies, 5, 867–882.
  6. Emson, R.H. & Crump, R.G. (1979) Description of a new species of Asterina (Asteroidea) with an account of its ecology. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 59, 77–94. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315400046191
  7. Forbes, E. (1841) A history of British starfish and other animals of the Class Echinodermata. John Van Voorst, London, 267 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.2129
  8. Forbes, E. (1848) On the Asteriadæ found fossil in British strata. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, (2) 2, 457–482.
  9. Gale, A.S. (1987a) Goniasteridae (Asteroidea, Echinodermata) from the Late Cretaceous of north-west Europe. 1. Introduction. The genera Metopaster and Recurvaster. Mesozoic Research, 1 (1), 1–69, pls. 1–9. (for 1986)
  10. Gale, A.S. (1987b) Goniasteridae (Asteroidea, Echinodermata) from the Late Cretaceous of northwest Europe. 2. The genera Calliderma, Crateraster, Nymphaster and Chomataster. Mesozoic Research, 1 (4), 151–186, pls. 1–7.
  11. Gale, A.S. (1988) Asteroids. In: Paul, C.R.C., Gale, A.S. & Donovan, S.K. Cenomanian and Lower Turonian echinoderms from Wilmington, south-east Devon, England. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, Geology, 42, pp. 189–208, pls. 41–43
  12. Gale, A.S. (1989) Migration and evolution in Late Cretaceous Goniasteridae (Asteroidea, Echinodermata) from north-west Europe. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 100, 281–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(89)80048-3
  13. Gale, A.S. (2025) Asteroids (Echinodermata) from the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) rocky coast at Ivö Klack, southern Sweden. Acta Geologica Polonica. [in press]
  14. Gale, A.S. & Sørensen, A.M. (2015) Taxonomy and palaeoecology of thoracican cirripedes (Crustacea) from a Campanian rocky shoreline at Ivö Klack, southern Sweden. Cretaceous Research, 54, 212–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2014.09.004
  15. Geinitz, H.B. (1871) Seeigel, Seesterne und Haarsterne des unteren Quaders unteren Pläners. In: Geinitz, H.B. (1871–1875), Das Elbthalgebirge in Sachsen. Erster Theil. Der untere Quader. Palaeontographica, 20 (1), pp. I.61–I93, pls. I.14–I.23.
  16. Gray, J.E. (1840) A synopsis of the genera and species of the Class Hypostoma (Asterias Linnaeus). Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Series 1, 6 (37), 175–184 + 275–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/03745484009443296
  17. Hotchkiss, F.H.C. (2012) Growth zones and extraxial-axial homologies in Asteroidea (Echinodermata). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 125, 106–121. https://doi.org/10.2988/11-37.1
  18. Jagt, J.W.M. (2000) Late Cretaceous-Early Palaeogene echinoderms and the K/T boundary in the southeast Netherlands and northeast Belgium – Part 5: Asteroids. Scripta Geologica, 121, 377–503, pls. 1–27.
  19. Jagt, J.W.M., Jagt-Yazykova, E.A., Van Bakel, B.W.M. & Fraaije, R.H.B. (2021) Notes on some Late Cretaceous goniasterid stafish (Echinodermata, Asteroidea) from Belgium and Germany. In: Garassino, A. & Vega, F.J. (eds). Homenaje para Gérard Breton [Tribute to Gérard Breton]. Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 73 (3), A030321. https://doi.org/10.18268/BSGM2021v73n3a030321
  20. Kennedy, W.J. & Christensen, W.K. (1991) Coniacian and Santonian ammonites from Bornholm, Denmark. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark, 38, 203–226. https://doi.org/10.37570/bgsd-1990-38-19
  21. Müller, A.H. (1953) Die isolierten Skelettelemente der Asteroidea (Asterozoa) aus der obersenonen Schreibkreide von Rügen. Geologie Beiheft, 8, 1–66, pls. 1–11.
  22. Neumann, C., Jagt, J.W.M., Girod, P. & Krupp, R. (2023) Seesterne (Asteroidea). In: Schneider, C. & Girod, P. (Eds.), Fossilien aus dem Campan von Hannover. 4. Komplett überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. 1. Druck. Arbeitskreis Paläontologie Hannover, Hannover, pp. 482–516.
  23. Niebuhr, B. & Seibertz, E. (2016) 13. Asteroiden (Seesterne). Geologica Saxonica, 62, 113–141.
  24. Pennant, T. (1777) British zoology. 4th Edition. Warrington, Printed by William Eyres, for Benjamin White, London, 154 pp.
  25. Perrier, E. (1875) Révision de la collection de Stellérides du Museum d’Histoire naturelle de Paris. C. Reinwald, Paris, 384 pp.
  26. Rowe, A.W.E. (1904) The zones of the White Chalk of the English coast. 3. Devon. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 18, 1–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(03)80049-4
  27. Schulz, M.-G. & Weitschat, W. (1971) Asteroideen aus der Schreibkreide von Lägerdorf (Holstein) und Hemmoor (N. Niedersachsen). Mitteilungen aus dem Geologisch-Paläontologischen Institut der Universität Hamburg, 40, 107–130, pls. 23–26.
  28. Schulz, M.-G. & Weitschat, W. (1975) Phylogenie und Stratigraphie der Asteroiden der nordwestdeutschen Schreibkreide. Teil I: Metopaster/Recurvaster- und Calliderma/Chomataster-Gruppe. Mitteilungen aus dem Geologisch-Paläontologischen Institut der Universität Hamburg, 44, 249–284, pls. 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02992962
  29. Schulz, M.-G. & Weitschat, W. (1981) Phylogenie und Stratigraphie der Asteroiden der nordwestdeutschen Schreibkreide. Teil II: Crateraster-Teichaster Gruppe und Gattung Ophryaster. Mitteilungen aus dem Geologisch-Paläontologischen Institut der Universität Hamburg, 51, 27–42.
  30. Sladen, W.P. (1891) A monograph on the British fossil Echinodermata from the Cretaceous formations, Volume Second. The Asteroidea. Part First, Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society London, 1891, 1–28, pls. 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.1891.12028012
  31. Sladen, W.P. (1893) A monograph on the British fossil Echinodermata from the Cretaceous formations, Vol. II, the Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society London, 29–66, pls. 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.1893.12028026
  32. Sørensen, A.M. & Surlyk, F. (2010) Palaeocology of tube-dwelling polychaetes on a Late Cretaceous rocky shore, Ivö Klack, southern Sweden, including some of the northernmost zooxanthellate corals. Cretaceous Research, 31, 553–566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2010.07.005
  33. Sørensen, A.M., Floris, S. & Surlyk, F. (2011) Late Cretaceous scleractinian corals from the rocky shore of Ivö Klack, southern Sweden, including some of the northernmost zooxanthellate corals. Cretaceous Research, 32, 259–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2010.12.005
  34. Sørensen, A.M. & Surlyk, F. (2011) Taphonomy and palaeoecology of the gastropod fauna from a Late Cretaceous rocky shore, Sweden. Cretaceous Research, 32, 472–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2011.03.003
  35. Sørensen, A.M., Surlyk, F. & Jagt, J.W.M. (2012) Adaptive morphologies and guild structure in a high-diversity bivalve fauna from an early Campanian rocky shore, Ivö Klack (Sweden). Cretaceous Research, 33, 21–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2011.07.004
  36. Spencer, W.K. (1905) A monograph on the British fossil Echinodermata from the Cretaceous formations, Volume Second. The Asteroidea, Part third. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society London, 67–90, pls. 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.1905.12035516
  37. Spencer, W.K. (1907) A monograph on the British fossil Echinodermata from the Cretaceous formations, Volume Second. The Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea, Part fourth. Monograph of the Palaeontographical Society London, 91–132, pls. 27–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.1907.12035532
  38. Spencer, W.K. (1913) The evolution of the Cretaceous Asteroidea. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B204, 99–177, pls. 10–16.
  39. Surlyk, F. & Christensen, W.K. (1974) Epifaunal zonation on an Upper Cretaceous rocky coast. Geology, 2, 529–534. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1974)2%3C529:EZOAUC%3E2.0.CO;2
  40. Surlyk, F. & Sørensen, A.M. (2010) An early Campanian rocky shore at Ivö Klack, southern Sweden. Cretaceous Research, 31, 567–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2010.07.006
  41. Svennevig, K. & Surlyk, F. (2018) A high-stress shelly fauna associated with sponge mud-mounds in the Coniacian Arnager Limestone of Bornholm, Denmark. Lethaia, 52 (1), 57–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/let.12290
  42. Tröger, K.-A. & Christensen, W.K. (1991) Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Santonian) inoceramid bivalve faunas from the island of Bornholm, Denmark. With a review of the Cenomanian-Santonian lithostratigraphic formations and locality details. Danmarks Geologiske Undersøgelse, Serie A, 28, 1–47, pls. 1–4. https://doi.org/10.34194/seriea.v28.7048
  43. Valette, A. (1902) Note sur quelques stellérides de la craie sénonienne du départment de l’Yonne. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences historiques et naturelles de l’Yonne, 56 (2), 3–26.
  44. Valette, A. (1915) Nouvelle note sur les Stellérides de la craie blanche du départment de l’Yonne. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences historiques et naturelles de l’Yonne, 68 (for 1914), 1–72.
  45. Wienberg Rasmussen, H. (1950) Cretaceous Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea with special reference to the species found in Denmark. Danmarks Geologiske Undersøgelse, Series 2, 77, 1–134, 18 pls. https://doi.org/10.34194/raekke2.v77.6866
  46. Žítt, J. (2005) The asteroid genus Haccourtaster (Echinodermata, Goniasteridae) in the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, Czech Republic. Cretaceous Research, 26, 225–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2004.11.017

How to Cite

Gale, A.S. & Jagt, J.W.M. (2025) New species of the asteroid genus Haccourtaster Jagt, 2000 (Echinodermata, Goniasteridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Zootaxa, 5632 (2), 325–336. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5632.2.6