(vertebrate zoology) The equivalent name for Diplorhina.
| Pteraspida Temporal range: Ordovician - Devonian |
|
|---|---|
| Drepanaspis gemuendina, accompanied by Tiaraspis subtilis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Superclass: | Pteraspidomorphi Goodrich, 1909 |
| Class: | Pteraspida Goodrich, 1909 |
| Subclasses | |
Pteraspida is an extinct class of early jawless fish. The fossils show extensive shielding of the head. Many had hypocercal tails in order to generate lift to increase ease of movement through the water for their armoured bodies, which were covered in dermal bone. They also had sucking mouth parts and some species may have lived in fresh water. The taxon contains the subgruops Heterostraci, Astraspida, Arandaspida.
| Wikispecies has information related to: Pteraspida |
| This article about a prehistoric fish is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)