Jump to content

Tremataspis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sdkb (talk | contribs) at 22:36, 13 April 2020 (Adding local short description: "Genus of prehistoric jawless fish", overriding Wikidata description "genus of fishes (fossil)" (Shortdesc helper)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Tremataspis
Temporal range: Late Silurian
Fossil in Vienna
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Tremataspis

Tremataspis is a genus of an extinct osteostracan agnathan from the Silurian period of what is now Estonia.

Tremataspis schmidtii head and body armour at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin

Tremataspis was about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length, and had an armored shield covering its head. Compared with its relatives, the shield was unusually elongated, covering the whole front of the body, and was more rounded in shape. It is thought that Tremataspis used its rounder shield to burrow in the ocean floor, searching for food. Because the shield consisted of one solid piece, it probably did not grow during the animal's life; presumably, the larvae lacked the shield, which only appeared later in life.[1]


Life reconstruction Tremataspis mammillata

References

  1. ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 25. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.