Heliaster
Heliaster is a genus of Asteroidea (sea stars) in the family Heliasteridae. Fossil record. Whole specimens of "Heliaster microbrachius" have been found preserved in calcite-cemented quartz in Southwest Florida that dates to the Pliocene, 3.5 to 2.5 million years ago (Castilla "et al." 2013). Today "H. microbrachius" is found only in the Pacific Ocean: on the coast of Panama, and Acapulco in Mexico. This suggests that greater connection between the two oceans gave the species a more extensive range in the past (Castilla "et al." 2013).