''Ateleaspis'' is an extinct genus of primitive

ostracoderm Ostracoderms () are the armored jawless fish of the Paleozoic Era. The term does not often appear in classifications today because it is paraphyletic (excluding jawed fishes) (may also be polyphyletic if anaspids are closer to cyclostomes) an ...

fish that lived in the Early

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 ...

Early Devonian The Early Devonian is the first of three epochs comprising the Devonian period, corresponding to the Lower Devonian series. It lasted from and began with the Lochkovian Stage , which was followed by the Pragian from and then by the Emsian, whi ...

periods. Like other ostracoderms, ''Ateleaspis'' had a head shield similar to that of ''

Cephalaspis ''Cephalaspis'' (from el, κεφαλή , 'head' and el, ἀσπίς , '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 ...

''. Species from Silurian period were found in

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 ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, but now has been found also in

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part o ...

from Early Devonian period.

Description

''Ateleaspis'' possibly is the most basal vertebrate with paired fins. ''Ateleaspis'' was a small fish (about 15 – 20 cm) and had a flat headshield and a narrow trunk covered by brick-like scales.

References

External links

Ateleaspis at Palaeos

Ateleaspis species location & chronology
Osteostraci genera Paleozoic jawless fish Fossils of Norway Fossils of Great Britain {{Devonian-jawless-fish-stub