Boreaspis

Boreaspis (meaning "Boreas's Shield") is an extinct genus of osteostracan agnathan vertebrate that lived in the Devonian period.

Phylum:Chordata

Infraphylum:Agnatha

Class:†Osteostraci

Order:†Benneviaspidida

Quick facts Scientific classification, Species ...

Boreaspis Temporal range: Pragian-Emsian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
CGI reconstruction of B. rostrata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Infraphylum:	Agnatha
Class:	†Osteostraci
Order:	†Benneviaspidida
Family:	†Boreaspididae
Genus:	†Boreaspis Stensiö, 1927
Species
†B. rostrata Stensiö, 1927 (type) †B. batoides Wangsjö, 1952 †B. macrorhynchus Wangsjö, 1952 †B. puella Wangsjo, 1952 †B. spinicornis Wangsjö, 1952 †B. triangularis Wangsjö, 1952 †"B." ceratops Wangsjo, 1952 †"B." intermedia Wangsjö, 1952

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Fourteen different species of Boreaspis have been found in sandstone of the lagoons and estuaries of Devonian Spitsbergen; however, some of these likely do not belong to the genus.^[1] The species B. robusta and B. costata have been reassigned to Spatulaspis; and B. circinus, B. curtirostris, and B. gracilis now belong to Dicranaspis.^[2]

Species of Boreaspis were very small, with head shields about 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long.^[3] All species possessed a long spathe-like rostrum derived from the anterior-most end of the head shield, which would have enhanced the fish's hydrodynamics and was probably also used to root out food buried beneath the substrate.^[4]