Ferruaspis
| Ferruaspis Temporal range: Middle Miocene, | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Osmeriformes |
| Suborder: | Retropinnoidei |
| Family: | †Ferruaspidae McCurry et al., 2025 |
| Genus: | †Ferruaspis McCurry et al., 2025 |
| Species: | †F. brocksi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Ferruaspis brocksi McCurry, Gill, Baranov, Hart, Slatyer & Frese, 2025 | |
Ferruaspis (from Latin ferrum, meaning "iron", referencing its preservation in goethite, and Greek aspis, meaning "shield", a common suffix for fossil fish genera) is an extinct genus of freshwater osmeriform ray-finned fish from the Miocene of Australia. It contains a single species, F. brocksi, and is the only member of the family Ferruaspidae. It was closely related to the extant Southern Hemisphere smelts in the family Retropinnidae. It is named after professor Jochen Brocks of the Australian National University.
Ferruaspis is known from extraordinarily well-preserved specimens recovered from the McGraths Flat lagerstätte of New South Wales. These specimens provide a highly detailed glimpse into its life history, ecology, and physical appearance. Aside from an indeterminate percomorph fish, it is the only fish known from this site.