Wladysagitta

Wladysagitta is an extinct genus of osteostracan jawless fish that existed during the lower Devonian period of what is now Podolia, Ukraine.

[1] This taxon was named in honor of Polish paleontologist Dr. Władysław Zych (1899–1981), and from the Latin sagitta, meaning arrow, which is in reference to the arrow-like shape of its skull.

[2] Wladysagitta, like other osteostracans, possesses very advanced features for an agnathan; namely, an armored headshield with complicated cranial anatomy, paired fins and rows of plated scales.

Like its relatives, its flat, spade-like head, dorsally orientated eye sockets and lack of jaws indicate that it was probably a benthic, bottom-feeding animal, and given its taxonomic placement, it likely made its home in marine environments.

The type species, W. janvieri, is comparatively larger, broader and has a more pronounced rostral structure, whereas W. acutirostris is slightly smaller, narrower and has a more blunted headshield shape.

Reconstruction of the headshield of W. janvieri