:Yongdongaspis

{{Short description|Extinct genus of jawless vertebrates}}

{{Speciesbox

| fossil_range = Llandovery,
~{{fossilrange|436}} Telychian

| grandparent_authority = Chen et al., 2022

| parent_authority = Chen et al., 2022

| taxon = Yongdongaspis littoralis

| authority = Chen et al., 2022

}}

Yongdongaspis, colloquially known as the Binhai Yongdong,{{Cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2022-03/05/content_78089072.htm|title=Over 400-mln-yr-old fossil of fish found in China - China.org.cn|website=www.china.org.cn}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanjournal.news/they-find-remains-of-a-fish-that-lived-400-million-years-ago/|title=They find remains of a fish that lived 400 million years ago|date=March 4, 2022}} is an extinct genus of galeaspid vertebrates within the monotypic family Yongdongaspididae. The type species is Y. littoralis and it was found in the Silurian-aged Huixingshao Formation of China.{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Yang |last2=Gai |first2=Zhikun |last3=Li |first3=Qiang |last4=Wang |first4=Jianhua |last5=Peng |first5=Lijian |last6=Wei |first6=Guangbiao |last7=Zhu |first7=Min |title=A New Family of Galeaspids (Jawless Stem-Gnathostomata) from the Early Silurian of Chongqing, Southwestern China |journal=Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition |date=April 2022 |volume=96 |issue=2 |pages=430–439 |doi=10.1111/1755-6724.14909|bibcode=2022AcGlS..96..430C |s2cid=247063430 }} This makes it the oldest known fish fossil discovered in Chongqing to date.

Discovery and naming

The holotype was excavated in July 2020 and was prepared in 2021, before being named as the new species Yongdongaspis littoralis in July 2022.

Description

Based on the holotype, Yongdongaspis only grew to around {{convert|5|cm|in}} long.

References