| Astraspis | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Astraspis desiderata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Pteraspida |
| Subclass: | Astraspida |
| Order: | Astraspidiformes |
| Genus: | †Astraspis Walcott, 1892 |
| Species: | †A. desiderata |
| Binomial name | |
| †Astraspis desiderata Walcott, 1892 | |
Astraspis was a small astraspidiform fish that lived in the Ordovician period. It was mainly a detritivore and herbivore that sifted through the sand on the sea bed looking for precious nutrients and other sustenance like algae and underwater insects.
This jawless fish was preyed on by many creatures so it developed tough head and body armour to defend itself from other predators like endocerid cephalopods and eurypterids. It grew up to anywhere between 10 and 25 centimetres long and weighed around 500-700 grams to almost a kilo because of its tough protective and heavy body armour casing. It would have swam fairly slowly because of its heavy body armour so this would have been a major disadvantage when it came to predators.
In popular culture[]
- Astraspis appears on the first episode of BBC's Sea Monsters, where is used by Nigel Marven as a bait for Megalograptus.
Gallery[]
