Phylum Chordata | Family Tolypelepididae Rank Order | |
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Similar Heterostraci, Protaspididae, Lepidaspis, Ctenaspis, Cardipeltis |
Tolypelepidida is an extinct order of heterostracan vertebrates. These armored jawless fish superficially resemble their relatives, the cyathaspids, though, researchers place the tolypelepids as a sister group to the cyathaspids and the pteraspidids (and both groups' daughter taxa). A recent study by Lundgren and Blom in 2013 implies that the order is paraphyletic, with the type genus, Tolypelepis, being the sister taxon of Cyathaspidiformes. The typical tolypelepid had a carapace formed from dorsal and ventral plates, and a scaly tail.
References
Tolypelepidida Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA