Asteroids (Echinodermata) from the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) rocky shore at Ivö Klack, southern Sweden

Abstract

The asteroid fauna from the upper lower Campanian rocky coastline at Ivö Klack is described, and its palaeoecology is discussed in comparison with other Cretaceous and present-day shallow-marine assemblages. Twenty-six taxa are recorded, belonging predominantly to the Goniasteridae (11 species), with smaller representatives of the families Podosphaerasteridae (4 taxa), Astropectinidae (3 taxa), Forcipulatida (2 taxa), Pterasteridae, Korethrasteridae, Pseudarchasteridae, Pycinasteridae, Asterinidae, and Stauranderasteridae (all one species each). Five new genera are described (Scaniasterina, type species S. surlyki sp. nov.; Granulasterias, type species G. ivoensis sp. nov.; Rugametopaster, type species Metopaster rugissimus Gale, 1987a; Ivoaster, type species I. soerensenae sp. nov. and Vectisaster, type species V. enigmaticus sp. nov.). In addition, new species erected include Astropecten erectus sp. nov., Manfredaster graveseni sp. nov., Metopaster asgaardae sp. nov., Nymphaster macrogranularis sp. nov., N. minigranularis sp. nov., Pycinaster christenseni sp. nov. and Remaster cretaceus sp. nov. Metopaster tamarae Gale, 1987a, is transferred to the genus Weitschataster Neumann and Girod, 2018. The asteroid fauna shows marked similarities to a Cenomanian–Turonian assemblage from rocky shorelines in the Bohemian Basin, Czech Republic, but differs in important respects from present-day shallow-marine asteroid assemblages from around the world.