Sacabambaspis is an extinct genus of jawless fish that lived during the Ordovician period some 485.4 to 443.8 million years ago. It is named after the Sacabamba village in Bolivia close to where it was first found.

It lived in shallow waters on the continental margins of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. It was part of the Arandaspid family and was related to the Arandaspis, early jawless fishes that existed in the Ordovician. Only one species, S. janvieri, has been identified, although fossils of individuals from yet unidentified species have been discovered.

This creature was estimated to have been able to grow up to 25cm long (10inch) and was characterized by its tadpole like shape due to its lack of fins with a large head and a face located at the front of its head.

In 2023, a number of memes and fanart of Sacabambaspis were posted after a viral tweet was made about a poorly reconstructed model at the Natural History Museum of Helsinki in Finland.

Scholarly Articles:

Gagnier, Pierre-Yves; Blieck, Alain R. M.; S., Gabriela Rodrigo (1986). "First Ordovician vertebrate from South America"
Janvier, Philippe (1997) Arandaspida The Tree of Life Web Project
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacabambaspis
https://fossiilid.info/15029
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262764784_On_Sacabambaspis_janvieri_and_the_vertebrate_diversity_in_Ordovician_seas

More Information:

Sacabambaspis (Wikipedia)