Boreaspis

Boreaspis Temporal range: Early Devonian PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Osteostraci
Order:	Benneviaspidida
Family:	Boreaspididae
Genus:	Boreaspis

Boreaspis ("Boreas' Shield") is an extinct genus of primitive jawless fish that lived in the Devonian period.

Fourteen different species of Boreaspis have been found in sandstone of the lagoons and estuaries of Devonian Spitsbergen.

Boreaspis was about 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long, with a tough shield covering its head, and extra protective spikes protruding from the cheek regions. It also had a long spike-like rostrum on its snout, which would have enhanced the fish's hydrodynamics and was probably also used to root out food buried beneath the substrate.^[1]

References

1. Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 25. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.

• Long, John A. The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8018-5438-5