Eomyctophum
| Eomyctophum Temporal range:
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|---|---|
| Fossil specimen of E. cozlae (bottom) with Sarmatella (top) from Romania | |
| Artistic reconstruction of Eomyctophum mainardii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Myctophiformes |
| Family: | Myctophidae |
| Subfamily: | †Eomyctophinae |
| Genus: | †Eomyctophum Daniltshenko, 1947 |
| Type species | |
| †Eomyctophum koraensis Daniltshenko, 1947
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| Species | |
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Eomyctophum ("dawn Myctophum") is an extinct genus of lanternfish that inhabited the Peri-Tethys region and later the Paratethys Sea from the Eocene to the Oligocene.[1] Its remains are known from throughout eastern Europe & western Asia in both the Caucasus and Carpathians. Fossils of this genus comprises both articulated skeletons and otoliths suggesting it was a particularly common genus of fish.[2][3]
It is the only member of the extinct subfamily Eomyctophinae, although Eokrefftia may also belong in it.[4] The earliest known member of the genus was identified from the Early Eocene of Italy in 2025, millions of years earlier and further west than the other species.[5]
Taxonomy
The following species are known:[2]
- †E. cozlae Ciobanu, 1977 - Early Oligocene of Romania
- †E. koraensis Daniltshenko, 1947 (type species) - Early Oligocene of the North Caucasus, Russia (including Pshekha Formation), Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine (Menilitic Formation) (=E. menneri Daniltshenko, 1967)[3]
- †E. mainardii Calzoni, Giusberti & Carnevale, 2025 - Early Eocene of Italy (Chiusole Formation)[5]
- †E. polysarcum (Gorjanovic-Kramberger, 1880) - Early Oligocene of the Czech Republic
The former species E. gracilis and E. limicolus are now placed in the blackchin Beckerophotus and the lanternfish Oligophus respectively.[2]
References
- ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ a b c Prokofiev, A. M. (2006-12-01). "Fossil myctophoid fishes (Myctophiformes: Myctophoidei) from Russia and adjacent regions". Journal of Ichthyology. 46 (1): S38–S83. Bibcode:2006JIch...46S..38P. doi:10.1134/S0032945206100043. ISSN 1555-6425.
- ^ a b Danilʹchenko, P. G. (1967). Bony Fishes of the Maikop Deposits of the Caucasus: Kostistye Ryby Maĭkopskikh Otlozheniĭ Kavkaza. Israel Program for Scientific Translations [available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information, Springfield, Va.]
- ^ Schwarzhans, Werner W.; Carnevale, Giorgio (2024-10-04). "Fish Otoliths from the Upper Oligocene and Lower Miocene of the Monferrato and Turin Hill, Northern Italy". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 130 (3) 23455. Bibcode:2024RIPS..13023455S. doi:10.54103/2039-4942/23455. ISSN 2039-4942.
- ^ a b Calzoni, Pietro; Giusberti, Luca; Carnevale, Giorgio (2025-07-29). "THE YPRESIAN FISHES OF THE SOLTERI LAGERSTÄTTE (TRENTO, NORTHERN ITALY): A GLIMPSE INTO THE EARLY EOCENE TETHYAN MESOPELAGIC ASSEMBLAGES". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 131 (2) 28705. Bibcode:2025RIPS..13128705C. doi:10.54103/2039-4942/28705. hdl:11577/3557823. ISSN 2039-4942.