'89 lesabre - what fell off my car?

i was driving down the street today and suddenly a piece from underneath the car fell to the ground....

http://www.blackmasksandgasoline.com/fell_off_buick.JPG

^^ that is a picture of the piece that fell of the bottom of the car.

i was wondering if someone could identify it for me (looks like a cover for something but i haven't had time to look underneath the car). is it important? how can i replace/mend it?

thanks.

That is a heat shield over the exhaust manifold. It's a relatively unimportant (mechanically) part that protects hands from touching a hot manifold by mistake.

how do i reattach it?

The two round holes in the center are bolt holes for securing it on. The old bolts (or what's left to them) are probably still in the thread holes in the exhaust manifold. You will probably need to tap them out and reattach the shield with new bolts.

Yes that's what it is...although it also looks like a deformed claw.LOL