''Anglaspis'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of cyathaspidiform

heterostracan Heterostraci (Ancient Greek, ἕτερος+ὄστρακον "those itha different shell" i is pl. of -us is an extinct subclass of pteraspidomorph jawless vertebrate that lived primarily in marine and estuary environments. Heterostraci exis ...

agnatha Agnatha (, Ancient Greek 'without jaws') is an infraphylum of jawless fish in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, consisting of both present ( cyclostomes) and extinct (conodonts and ostracoderms) species. Among recent animals, cyclos ...

Fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

are found in marine strata of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, from the late

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozoi ...

period until the genus' extinction during the Early

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...

. As with other cyathaspidiforms, individuals of ''Anglaspis'' had dorsal and ventral plates covering the forebody, gill pouches, and nasal openings that lay on the roof of the oral cavity. Late Silurian

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of ''Anglaspis'' are found in marine

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as e ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, while most of the Early Devonian species are found in the Devonian-aged strata of

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern N ...

island, in Svalbard,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Taxonomy

''Anglaspis'' was, at various times, placed in the families

Cyathaspidida Cyathaspidida is a taxon of extinct cyathaspidiform heterostracan agnathans whose fossils are found in Silurian to Lower Devonian marine strata of Europe and North America.Lundgren, Mette, and Henning Blom. "Phylogenetic relationships of the c ...

Poraspididae Cyathaspididae is an extinct family in the heterostracan order Cyathaspidiformes.The Classification and Evolution of the Heterostraci. L. Beverly Tarlo, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 1962 Cyathaspididae contains most of the genera originally co ...

, and in its own family, Anglaspididae. Currently, it is placed in

Ariaspidae Ariaspidae is a family of extinct cyathaspidiform heterostracan agnathans in the suborder Cyathaspidida Cyathaspidida is a taxon of extinct cyathaspidiform heterostracan agnathans whose fossils are found in Silurian to Lower Devonian mari ...

with '' Ariaspis'', and '' Listraspis'', and is considered to be closely related to, if not the progenitor of '' Liliaspis'' and '' Paraliliaspis''.

References

Early Devonian fish of Europe Silurian fish of Europe Silurian first appearances Early Devonian genus extinctions Cyathaspidida Cyathaspidiformes genera {{Pteraspidomorphi-stub