Pteraspis

Pteraspis , Photo: Michael Lahanas

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Superclassis/Classis: †Pteraspidomorphi
Subclassis: †Heterostraci
Ordo: †Pteraspidiformes
Familia: †Pteraspididae

Genus: †Pteraspis

Pteraspis (from Greek: πτερόν pteron 'wing' or 'fin' and Greek: ἀσπίς aspís 'shield') is an extinct genus of pteraspidid heterostracan jawless fish. It lived from the Lochkovian to Eifelian epochs of the Devonian period in what is now Brazil (Eifelian Maecuru Formation), Britain (Lochkovian Ditton Group), Ukraine (Lochkovian Ivane Suite, Pragian Babin Sandstone) and Belgium.[citation needed]
Description
P. rostrata cast of a specimen from England, next to a 1953 plaster model.

Like other heterostracan fishes, Pteraspis had a protective armored plating covering the front of its body. Though lacking fins other than its lobed tail, it is thought to have been a good swimmer due to stiff, wing-like protrusions derived from the armoured plates over its gills. This, along with the horn-like rostrum, made Pteraspis very streamlined in shape, which is good for swimming. Pteraspis also had some stiff spikes on its back, possibly an additional form of protection against predators. It is thought to have fed from shoals of plankton just under the ocean surface.[1] Some records are found in association with marine fossils,[2][3] while some others are found in freshwater environment.[4]

Pteraspis grew to an estimated length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in).[citation needed]

References

Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 23. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
Lankester, E. R. (1870). "I.—On a New Cephalaspis Discovered in America, etc". Geological Magazine. 7 (75): 397–399. Bibcode:1870GeoM....7..397L. doi:10.1017/S0016756800209485. S2CID 140161565.
White, E. I. (1938). "New Pteraspids from South Wales". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society. 94 (1–4): 85–116. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1938.094.01-04.05. S2CID 130276490.
Davies, Benjamin Evan (2009-07-03). An experimental morphological investigation into the hydrodynamics and locomotion of the Palaeozoic jawless vertebrates Poraspis, Errivaspis and Ateleaspis (thesis thesis). University of Leicester.