G42 - Extremely Rare Stensiopelta pustulata Devonian Fossil Fish Skull - Ukraine

Stensiopelta pustulata

Cornuata - Cephalaspidiens - Cephalaspidae

Scientific name: Stensiopelta pustulata - Armored primitive Agnatha fish

Location: Horodnitsia, Horodenka Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Geological Formation: Dniester formation

Age: Devonian, Lochkovian stage ( 415 million years)

Size (long): 11.8cm = 4.64 Inch

REF.: G42

DESCRIPTION:
Cephalaspis (meaning "head shield") is a possibly monotypic genus of extinct osteostracan agnathan vertebrate. It was a trout-sized detritivorous fish that lived in the early Devonian. Like its relatives, Cephalaspis was heavily armored, presumedly 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.Because its mouth was situated directly beneath its head, Cephalaspis was thought of as being a bottom-feeder, akin to a heavily armoured catfish or sturgeon. It moved its plow-like head from side to side, Cephalaspis easily stirring sand and dust into the water, along with revealing the hiding places of its prey, digging up worms or crustaceans hidden in the mud and algae, as well as sifting through detritus (inferred from its lack of jaws and inability to bite).

It has some glued but not restored fractures.