Patiriella littoralis (Dartnall, 1970)
Derwent River seastar, Derwent River starfish
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Marginaster littoralis Dartnall, 1970
Conservation Status
Missing (Threatened Species Section, 2025) or Extinct (O'Hara et al., 2018; Carlton, 2023)
Last record (disputed): 1991 (specimen) (O'Hara et al., 2018); 1991 (Carlton, 2023); 2004 (sighting) (Department of the Environment, 2020)
Targeted surveys in 1993 and 2010 failed to rediscover the species (O'Hara et al., 2018). With the last record being one found in 1991 (O'Hara et al., 2018; Carlton, 2023), although there was apparently a sighting in 2004 (Department of the Environment, 2020; contra Carlton, 2023).
Distribution & Habitat
Tasmania (southeastern), Australia
"Marginaster littoralis is endemic to southeastern Tasmania. It was described by Dartnall from specimens collected from the rocky mid-littoral zone near Powder Point, Cornelian Bay Point, and in the River Derwent near Hobart. It is a shallow water species and more recent surveys by C. Materia suggest that its total range is probably less than one hectare."
(Bryant & Jackson, 1999)
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original description:
Dartnall, A.J. (1970). A new species of Marginaster (Asteroidea: Poraniidae) from Tasmania. Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales 94(3): 207-211.
Other references:
Bryant, S. and Jackson, J. (1999). Tasmania's Threatened Fauna Handbook: What, Where and How to Protect Tasmania's Threatened Animals. Hobart, Tasmania: Threatened Species Unit, Parks and Wildlife Service.
Carlton, James T. (2023). Marine Invertebrate Neoextinctions: An Update and Call for Inventories of Globally Missing Species. Diversity 15(6): 782. https://doi.org/10.3390/d15060782
Dartnall, A. J. (1969). New Zealand sea stars in Tasmania. Papers and Proceedings o f the Royal Society of Tasmania. 103:53-55.
Department of the Environment. (2020). Marginaster littoralis in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment, Canberra. Available from: http://www.environment.gov.au/sprat. Accessed Fri, 31 Jul 2020 21:45:26 +1000.
Mah, C. L. (2025). World Asteroidea Database. Patiriella littoralis (Dartnall, 1970). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1325697 on 2025-05-27
Materia, C. J. (1994a). A Study of Native Asteroids in South Eastern Tasmania. Wildlife Report 94/9. Hobart, Tasmania: Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
Materia, C. J. (1994b). The Status of the Tasmanian Seastar Marginaster littoralis Dartnall, 1970. Prepared for the Australian Nature Conservation Agency Feral Pests Program, Number 19. Wildlife Report 94/8. Hobart, Tasmania: Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
O'Hara, Timothy D. et al. (2018). The Derwent River seastar: re-evaluation of a critically endangered marine invertebrate. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 186(2): 483-490. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zly057
Threatened Species Section. (2025). Derwent River Seastar (Patiriella littoralis): Species Management Profile for Tasmania's Threatened Species Link. https://www.threatenedspecieslink.tas.gov.au/pages/derwent-river-seastar.aspx Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania. Accessed on 27/5/2025.