Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
558 / Paleozoic
Pteraspis
Pteraspis rostrata
A streamlined head shield extended into a rostrum, while a dorsal spine and lateral horns stabilized the jawless fish.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 410–393 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Devonian
- Geographic range
- Estuaries, deltas and nearshore shallows · Europe
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Pteraspis?
Pteraspis (Pteraspis rostrata) was an extinct organism known from About 410–393 million years ago, with a range in Estuaries, deltas and nearshore shallows · Europe.
Life and ecology
Schools cruised near the bottom and collected suspended and sedimentary organic particles.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Pteraspis disappear?
The expansion of jawed fishes and changing shallow waters are commonly linked to the decline of heterostracans; no cause specific to Pteraspis is established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Pteraspis?
Numerous shields, plates and body impressions preserve sensory canals and tail outline; internal soft anatomy is rare.
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