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Cephalaspis
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Cephalaspis

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Cephalaspis (from , 'head' and , 'shield') is a possibly monotypic genus of extinct osteostracan agnathan vertebrate. It was a trout-sized detritivorous fish that lived in the early Devonian.

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Cephalaspis tenuicornis.jpg
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Commons category
Cephalaspis
taxon name
Cephalaspis
start time
415000000-
end time
398000000-
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8 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • Diet
  • Classification
  • Included species
  • Species of ''Cephalaspis'' that have been reassigned
  • Other miscellaneous species once assigned to ''Cephalaspis''
  • References
  • External links

Cephalaspis (from , 'head' and , 'shield') is a possibly monotypic genus of extinct osteostracan agnathan vertebrate. It was a trout-sized detritivorous fish that lived in the early Devonian.

==Description== Like its relatives, Cephalaspis was heavily armored, presumably to defend against predatory placoderms and eurypterids, as well as to serve as a source of calcium for metabolic functions in calcium-poor freshwater environments. It had sensory patches along the rim and center of its head shield, which were used to sense for worms and other burrowing organisms in the mud.

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