Drepanaspis

Name: Drepanaspis.
Phonetic: Dreh-pan-asp-is.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Heterostraci,‭ ‬Pteraspidomorphes,‭ ‬Psammosteidae.‭
Species: D.‭ ‬gemuendenensis‭ (‬type‭), D. earteri , D. edwardsi, D. jaegeri, D. lipperti, D. sehrieli‬.
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Up to‭ ‬30‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Germany‭ ‬-‭ ‬Hunsrueck Slate Formation.
Time period: Emsian of the Devonian.
Fossil representation: At least two individuals.

       Drepanaspis was a fairly flat jawless fish that probably swam close to the sea floor rather than in‭ ‬open water.‭ ‬Drepanaspis is quite unusual in that the mouth faced upwards instead of down like in most other heterostracan fish.‭ ‬The eyes of eterostracans are also set wide apart on either side of the mouth which meant‭ ‬that eterostracans had an exceptionally wide field of view.‭ ‬This may have been to spot for potential predators,‭ ‬or alternatively,‭ ‬been used to identify food or prey sinking down to‭ ‬the sea floor so that an individual could then manoeuvre itself to catch the falling morsel in its upturned mouth.‭

Further reading
-‭ ‬Algen und Psilophyten aus dem Unterdevon von Alken an der Mosel,‭ ‬R.‭ ‬Kraeusel and H.‭ ‬Weyland.‭ ‬1962.
-‭ ‬Pflanzen im Hunsrueckschiefer,‭ ‬W.‭ ‬Stuermer and F.‭ ‬Schaarschmidt‭ ‬-1980.



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