Astraspis

Taxobox
name = "Astraspis"


image_caption = "Astraspis desiderata"
status = fossil
fossil_range = Ordovician
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Pteraspidomorphi
ordo = Pteraspidiformes
genus = "Astraspis"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
* "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".

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.

External links

*Palaeos' [http://www.palaeos.com/Vertebrates/Units/040Pteraspidomorphi/040.100.html Pteraspidomorphi]