Donnrosenia schaefferi was named by Long et al. (2008) [A basal actinopterygian having a fusiform body, skull roof with parietals and supratemporals almost as long as the frontals; spiracular slit well defined on skull; dermosphenotic elongate, tripartite; maxilla with postorbital blade twice as long as deep; anterior suborbital division equal to postorbital blade; opercular elongate; very small accessory opercular present between anterior process of subopercular and anteroventral edge of opercular; subopercular with well-developed anterodorsal process; pectoral and pelvic fins each with approximately 25 fin rays, anal fin with 25–30 fin rays, on each fin the leading fin rays showing terminal branching with only one branch per segment (lacking fringing fulcra). Scales rhombic with well-developed peg and socket articulation. Main trunk scales from zone A almost three times as high as long, with about 12–15 rows of diagonal, slightly sinuous ridges forming the ornamentation.]. Its type specimen is AM F54362-63, a partial skeleton (an articulated fish preserved in part and counterpart, missing the dorsal margin, anterior portion of the head, and caudal fin), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Young et al 1992 Devonian Fish Locality 12, which is in an Emsian/Givetian marine siltstone/shale in the Aztec Siltstone Formation of Antarctica.