Cardipeltis Temporal range: Early Devonian
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C. richardsoni specimen on display at the Field Museum of Natural History. | |
Scientific classification | |
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Order: | Cardipeltiformes
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Family: | Cardipeltidae
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Genus: | Cardipeltis Branson & Mehl, 1931
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Type species | |
Cardipeltis wallacii | |
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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.