''Edaphaspis bystrowi'' is an extinct amphiaspidid cyathaspidid heterostracan.Novitskaya, Larisse. Les amphiaspides (Heterostraci) du Devonien de la Siberie. Éditions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1971. Its fossils are restricted to 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, whe ...

-aged marine strata of the Taimyr Peninsula, Early

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 of ...

. ''E. bystrowi'', as with all other amphiaspidids, is thought to have been a

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

filter feeder Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...

that lived on top of, or buried just below the surface of the substrate of hypersaline lagoon-bottoms. It is the only representative of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Edaphaspididae.

Anatomy

''E. bystrowi'' is known from a mostly complete cephalothoracic armor that is 16 centimeters long, and 21 centimeters wide. The armor is laterally flanked on both sides by serrated fringes. The anterior portion of the armor is missing, so experts are unsure if ''E. bystrowi'' had eyes (and preorbital openings) or not. There is a pair of branchial openings placed dorsally on a large dorsal lump at the posterior end of the armor.

References

Amphiaspidida Devonian jawless fish Early Devonian fish Cyathaspidiformes genera Devonian fish of Asia Fauna of Siberia Fossils of Russia Early Devonian first appearances Devonian extinctions {{Devonian-jawless-fish-stub