Lunaspis

Taxobox
name = "Lunaspis"
fossil_range = Early Devonian


image_caption = Artist's life restoration of "Lunaspis"
image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
subphylum = Vertebrata
infraphylum = Gnathostomata
classis = Placodermi
ordo = Petalichthyida
familia = Macropetalichthyidae
genus = "Lunaspis"
species = "L. heroldi"
subdivision_ranks = Binomial name
subdivision =
"Lunaspis heroldi" "Lunaspis" ("Moon Shield") is an extinct genus of petalichthyid fish that lived in shallow marine environments of the Early Devonian period. Fossils have been found in Germany, China and Australia.

Description

"Lunaspis" is flattened fish with short trunk and long, curved cornual plates. These long, spine-like plates give the suggestion of a crescent moon, hence the generic name. The nostrils and the anterior part of the head shield around the orbits, is covered by a number of tiny scales, as is the long trunk.

References

* Benton, M. J. (2005). "Vertebrate Palaeontology", Third Edition. Blackwell Publishing.