Drepanaspis gemuendenensis

Drepanaspis gemuendenensis Temporal range: Early Devonian PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Drepanaspis gemuendina and Tiaraspis subtilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Class:	†Heterostraci
Order:	Pteraspidomorphes
Family:	Psammosteidae
Genus:	Drepanaspis
Species:	D. gemuendenensis

Drepanaspis gemuendenensis is an extinct species of primitive jawless fish from the Devonian Hunsrück lagerstätte.

Fossil

Fossil of Drepanaspis sp. in the Field Museum of Natural History.

It was a flattened creature with a heavily armored body, somewhat ray-like in appearance. Its mouth faced upwards, unlike most other Heterostracans, which had their mouths facing downward. Drepanaspis also had small, widely spaced eyes. It is presumed to have foraged the ocean floor for food.^[1]

This frying-pan shaped fish may have been the ancestor of the giant, meter-long, meter-wide Psammosteid heterostracans of the late Devonian.

References

1. ^ Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 24. ISBN 1-84028-152-9. 

Paleontology portal