Groenlandaspis sp.

Pronunciation: Green-land-as-pis
Translation: "undescribed species of 'Greenland-shield'" - named after
Greenland, where it was first discovered
Period: Late Devonian (360 million years ago)

Description: small to medium sized armoured fish.

Class - Placodermi ('plated-skin' - the armoured fishes)
Order - Arthrodira ('jointed-neck')
Genus - Groenlandaspis
Species - Groenlandaspis sp.

Length - 50 cms

Groenlandaspis is a member of one of the most successful placoderm groups, the arthrodires. Arthrodires are well represented by some spectacular fossils from Gogo, W.A., and include some of the first giant predators to swim in the oceans - Dunkleosteus, from North America, which was more than 6 metres long.

Groenlandaspis itself was found in Greenland in the 1930s, and has since been found on six continents. Despite this widespread distribution few good specimens were known, and it was the realisation during the 1980s that the Canowindra site probably held good Groenlandaspis material (there are two isolated Groenlandaspis plates present on the first slab from Canowindra which was found in 1956) which led to efforts by Dr Alex Ritchie to re-locate the Canowindra site during the 1980s and early 1990s.

The 1993 excavation at Canowindra has resulted in the discovery of at least 70 well preserved specimens of Groenlandaspis which are the best examples of Groenlandaspis known from anywhere in the world. The species at Canowindra is probably a new species, and is under study by Dr Ritchie. Until it is formally named it is identified as Groenlandaspis sp.