Paxillosida

The Paxillosida are a large order of sea stars.

Characteristics
Paxillosida adults lack an anus and have no suckers on their tube feet. They do not develop the brachiolaria stage in their early development. They possess marginal plates, and have sessile pedicellariae. They mostly inhabit soft-bottomed environments of sand or mud.

Systematics
Recent analyses suggest Paxillosida may be a sister taxon of Asterina. The order is divided into these families:
 * family Astropectinidae Gray, 1840
 * family Benthopectinidae Verrill, 1899
 * family Ctenodiscidae Sladen, 1889
 * family Goniopectinidae Verrill, 1889
 * family Luidiidae Sladen, 1889
 * family Paleobenthopectinidae Blake, 1984 †
 * family Porcellanasteridae Sladen, 1883
 * family Pseudarchasteridae Sladen, 1889
 * family Radiasteridae Fisher, 1916