Astraspis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Astraspis
Fossil range: Ordovician
Astraspis desiderata
Astraspis desiderata
Conservation status
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Pteraspidomorphi
Order: Pteraspidiformes
Genus: Astraspis
Species
  • A. desiderata

Astraspis ('star shield') is an extinct genus of primitive jawless fish from the Ordovician of Central North America. It is related to other Ordovician fishes, such as the South American Sacabambaspis, and the Australian Arandaspis.

[edit] In popular culture

It has a small cameo in the 2003 BBC series Sea Monsters, a spin-off to the famed Walking with Dinosaurs, where Nigel Marven uses a dead Astraspis as bait to attract a sea scorpion. The creature is identified in the series' novelisation. It is also said to be an armour-plated fish in the documentary, whereas is more closely related to the modern lamprey.

[edit] External links