Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
524 / Paleozoic
Pituriaspis
Pituriaspis doylei
A long rostrum, side horns and paired openings belonged to an endemic jawless armored lineage.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 400 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Devonian
- Geographic range
- Coastal delta · Australia
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Pituriaspis?
Pituriaspis (Pituriaspis doylei) was an extinct organism known from About 400 million years ago, with a range in Coastal delta · Australia.
Life and ecology
It swam close to the bottom and probably filtered tiny food from turbid water.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Pituriaspis disappear?
Changing waterways and the expansion of jawed fishes are possible context, but they do not establish why this local branch disappeared.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Pituriaspis?
Three-dimensional head shields preserve canals and openings; the unknown trunk follows relatives.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS