• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.345-347
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• 2010

A sea star was collected with fishing nets at a depth of approximately 100-160 m in the East Sea and was identified as Stephanasterias albula (Stimpson, 1853) belonging to the family Asteriidae of the order Forcipulatida. This species characterized by having the capability of asexual reproduction by self-division turned out to be new to the Korean fauna. Its morphological characteristics are redescribed with illustrations. Thirty one species of sea stars including S. albula are now recorded from the East Sea of Korea.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.180-182
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• 2011

Sea stars were collected with fishing nets between depths of 40-150 m from the Gangwon-do coastal region, East Sea. Specimens were identified as Evasterias echinosoma Fisher, 1926 belonging to the family Asteriidae, which is new to the Korean fauna. This species was characterized by strong external spines and a general size of more than 200 mm, thus the largest sea star identified in Korea to date. Its morphological characteristics are described here with photos. Thirty two asteroid species including E. echinosoma have been reported from the East Sea of Korea.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.771-775
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• 1999

The antimutagenic activities of the total extract and several fractions of starfish, Asterina pectinifera (Asteriidae), were investigated in vitro by SOS chromotest with Escherichia coli PQ37 and Ames test with Salmonella typhimurium TA100. When various fractions was tested, the chloroform and butanol fractions showed low induction factors, which means both fractions increased antigenotoxicity against the base substitution mutagen MNNG. Even though higher antigenotoxic effect of the chloroform fraction, no effective result of Ames test was found in revertant formation of S. typhimurium TA100. The most effective antigenotoxic and antimutagenic fraction was a butanol one: i.e., When 0.5 mg/tube of butanol fraction was applied, the induction factor was 0.68. As the concentration of the fraction was increased the formation of revertants of S. typhimurium TA100 by about 81%. There was no cytotoxic effect of butanol fraction against S.typhimurium TA100. This result might be useful for further study to search a possible anticancer agent from the starfish, Asterina pectinifera.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.469-477
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• 2004

This study examined distributional patterns of Asterias amurensis in Tongyeong, the central South Sea of Korea. The density of the sea star was estimated at 10 chosen sites in the inner and the outer parts of the Tongyeong coast from December 2000. The mean density of the species in this area was $2.4ind./m^{2}$. The seasonal surveys conducted at 3 arbitrary chosen sites (i.e., sea cage, reef and soft sediment) also showed that the abundance of the species at the sea cage site $(density:\;3.6\;ind./m^{2};\;biomass:\;250.7\;gwwt/m^{2})$ was significantly higher than at the reef site $(density:\;1.7\;ind./m^{2};\;biomass:\;63.5\;gwwt/m^{2})$ and the soft sediment site $(density:\;0.4\;ind./m^{2};\;biomass:\;18.9\;gwwt/m^{2})$. Densities were higher at sea cages areas than at reefs and soft bottom sites. At sea cage site, A. amurensis population exhibited a strong aggregated distributional pattern. In contrast, at reef and soft bottom sites, A. amurensis population showed a random distributional pattern. The spatial difference in prey species and its abundance was the primary factor determining the spatial heterogeneity of the sea star in its behavior characteristics. Experiments on the feeding preference indicated that A. amurensis had a strong selectivity on its prey, but this selectivity varied between populations living in different sites. In particular, A. amurensis populations at the reef site showed a strong selectivity on various sessile and mobile animals living in reef areas, suggesting that these animal groups may play a role as "windows for the survival of A. amurensis". These results suggest that the distribution of A. amurensis in Tongyeong is closely associated with abundance of prey species and the bottom composition.