Hemicyclaspis

Name: Hemicyclaspis ‭(‬half round shield‭)‬.
Phonetic: Hem-e-sy-klasp-is.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Osteostraci,‭ ‬Atelaspidiformes.
Species: H.‭ ‬murchisoni.
Diet: Uncertain/Detritivore‭?
Size: Roughly about 15 ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Canada, ‭Norway, ‬United Kingdom.
Time period: Wenlock to Pridoli of the Silurian.
Fossil representation: Few individuals.

       When compared to other atelaspidiformes,‭ ‬Hemicyclaspis is considered to have been a better swimmer thanks to the presence of a more developed tail and two forward flaps that acted like pectoral fins,‭ ‬controlling pitch and allowing for level swimming in open water.‭ ‬Despite thee swimming adaptations,‭ ‬the mouth was still on the bottom which means that Hemicyclaspis was probably still a bottom feeder that searched for small organisms and organic matter in the sediment of Silurian oceans.

Further reading
- Additional remarks about Hemicyclaspis from Jel�ya, southern Norway. - Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift 54, pp. 375-384. - A. Heintz - 1974.

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