Two juvenile specimens of a new species of Oreaster were collected at Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes and Triángulos Oeste in the southern Gulf of Mexico. DNA of mitochondrial loci identifies them as members of the same clade as cloning larvae of Oreaster found abundantly in waters of the Florida Current-Gulf Stream system, and distinct from Oreaster clavatus and Oreaster reticulatus, the two known Oreasteridae species in the North Atlantic. Larvae from the new species of Oreaster persist as clones but also metamorphose and settle to the benthos with typical asteroid morphology.

中文翻译：

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发现与克隆海洋海星幼虫有关的成虫（Oreaster，Asteroidea：棘皮动物）

在墨西哥湾南部的 Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes 和 Triángulos Oeste 收集了两个 Oreaster 新物种的幼年标本。线粒体基因座的 DNA 将它们识别为与在佛罗里达洋流-墨西哥湾流系统水域中大量发现的 Oreaster 克隆幼虫相同的进化枝的成员，并且与 Oreaster clavatus 和 Oreaster reticulatus 这两种已知的北大西洋 Oreasteridae 物种不同。来自 Oreaster 新物种的幼虫以克隆形式存在，但也会变形并定居在具有典型小行星形态的底栖生物中。