October 2023
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One of the oreasterid sea stars, Bothriaster primigenius, is a rarely encountered species in the tropical Indo-West Pacific. The taxonomic position of this species, and more specifically, whether to recognize this sea star as a species, remains unresolved. To resolve the question, we assessed the specific validity of this sea star based on morphological observations and molecular phylogenetic analysis. The results revealed that this species is a young individual of another oreasterid sea star, Choriaster granulatus, and is placed as a junior synonym for the same.