Brindabellaspis stensioi ("Erik Stensiö's Brindabella Ranges Shield") is a placoderm with a flat, platypus-like snout from the Early Devonian of the Murrumbidgee Group in Australia.Early Devonian Fish Had Platypus-Like Snout This unusual form indicated a specialized niche, although what this niche was exactly is hard to determine due to a lack of jaw bones. Regardless, its dorsolaterally positioned eyes are consistent with a benthic lifestyle. When B. stensioi was first discovered in 1980, it was originally regarded as a Weejasperaspid acanthothoracid due to anatomical similarities with the other species found at the reef.King, Benedict; Young, Gavin C.; Long, John A. (2018). New information on Brindabellaspis stensioi Young, 1980, highlights morphological disparity in Early Devonian placoderms. Royal Society Open Science, 5(6), 180094–.doi:10.1098/rsos.180094
According to Philippe Janvier, anatomical similarities of B. stensiois brain and braincase with those of jawless fish, such as the Osteostraci and the Galeaspida, strongly suggest that B. stensioi, and also the antiarchs, are basal placoderms closest to the ancestral placoderm.Zhu YA, Giles S, Young GC, Hu Y, Bazzi M, Ahlberg PE, Zhu M, Lu J. Endocast and Bony Labyrinth of a Devonian "Placoderm" Challenges Stem Gnathostome Phylogeny. Curr Biol. 2021 Mar 8;31(5):1112-1118.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.046. Epub 2021 Jan 27. PMID: 33508218. References
Further reading Young, Gavin C. 1980, A new Early Devonian placoderm from New South Wales, Australia, with a discussion of placoderm phylogeny: Palaeontographica 167A pp. 10–76. 2 pl., 27 fig. Janvier, Philippe. Early Vertebrates Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Long, John A. The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution' Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
External links Palaeos article on B. stensioi