On the Planar Geometric Patterns of the Exoskeletal Relief Formation in Early Vertebrates (Osteostraci, Agnatha).

A study of the diversity of sculpture and histological structure of the exoskeleton in various osteostracan taxa (Osteostraci, Agnatha) enabled the first characterization of the main elements (geometric modules) of the planar organization of the complex relief on their armor surface. The armor relief was analyzed using a circular model of the formation of exoskeletal hard structures. The model was applied to unique material, fragments of a shield of the osteostracan Oeselaspis pustulata (Patten, 1931) from the Silurian of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago (Russia).