Cardipeltis is an extinct genus of heterostracan agnathan from marine strata of early Devonian of Utah, and Wyoming.[1][2] Species of Cardipeltis superficially resemble those of cyathaspids in having a flattened body and indistinct head covered by a large, broad, guitar pick or heart-shaped dorsal shield, and a long, scaly tail. Unlike cyathaspids, which all have a single ventral plate, however, the ventral shield of Cardipeltis is a mosaic composed of large scales.

Cardipeltis
Temporal range: Early Devonian
C. richardsoni specimen on display at the Field Museum of Natural History.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Subclass:
Order:
Cardipeltiformes
Family:
Cardipeltidae
Genus:
Cardipeltis

Branson & Mehl, 1931
Type species
Cardipeltis wallacii
Branson & Mehl, 1931
Species
  • C. wallacii Branson & Mehl, 1931
  • C. bryanti Denison, 1966
  • C. richardsoni Denison, 1966
Synonyms
  • C. oblongus
  • C. sinclairi
Life restoration of C. bryanti

References

edit
  1. ^ Bryant, William L., and Rudolph Ruedemann. "The fish fauna of Beartooth Butte, Wyoming. Parts II and III." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (1934): 127-167.
  2. ^ Denison, Robert Howland. Cardipeltis: an early Devonian agnathan of the Order Heterostraci. Field Museum of Natural History, 1966.