Tremataspis

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Tremataspis
Temporal range: Late Silurian
Tremataspis Vienna.jpg
Fossil in Vienna
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Osteostraci
Order: Thyestiida
Family:
Genus: Tremataspis

Tremataspis (Tremataspis mammillata) is a genus of an extinct osteostracan agnathan from the Silurian period of what is now south eastern and western Estonia.[1]

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.[2]


Life reconstruction of Tremataspis mammillata.

References[]

  1. ^ "Tremataspis mammillata". fossiilid.info. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  2. ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 25. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.


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