Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 20, 2026

Eolophotes

Eolophotes is an extinct genus of prehistoric crestfish that inhabited the northeastern Tethys Ocean during the Eocene. It contains a single species, E. lenis, known from the Lutetian-aged Dabakhan Formation of Georgia. It is a diminutive, poorly-known species, but represents the oldest fossil record of the group. However, Brownstein & Near (2023) found the Lophotidae to be potentially non-monophyletic, and Eolophotes to be a member of the Taeniosomi with uncertain placement.

Last revised
Jul 20, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
223 w
Citations
4
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Wikipedia ↗
Eolophotes
Temporal range: Middle Eocene,
E. lenis holotype, scale bar = 5 mm
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lampriformes
Family: Lophotidae
Genus: †Eolophotes
Daniltshenko, 1980
Species:
†E. lenis
Binomial name
†Eolophotes lenis
(Daniltshenko, 1962)
Synonyms
  • †Lophotes lenis Daniltshenko, 1962

Eolophotes ("dawn Lophotes") is an extinct genus of prehistoric crestfish that inhabited the northeastern Tethys Ocean during the Eocene. It contains a single species, E. lenis, known from the Lutetian-aged Dabakhan Formation of Georgia. It is a diminutive, poorly-known species, but represents the oldest fossil record of the group.123 However, Brownstein & Near (2023) found the Lophotidae to be potentially non-monophyletic, and Eolophotes to be a member of the Taeniosomi with uncertain placement.4

External links
  1. Davesne, Donald (2017-06-28). "A fossil unicorn crestfish (Teleostei, Lampridiformes, Lophotidae) from the Eocene of Iran". PeerJ. 5 e3381. doi:10.7717/peerj.3381. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 5493034. PMID 28674642.
  2. Bannikov, A. F.; Parin, N. N. (1996). "The List of Marine Fishes From Cenozoic (Upper Paleocene-Middle Miocene) Localities in Southern European Russia and Adjacent Countries". Voprosy Ikhtiologii. 37 (2): 149–161.
  3. Банников, Александр Федорович (2009). Ископаемые колючеперые рыбы (Acanthopterygii): систематика, филогения и роль в кайнозойских ихтиокомплексах Тетиса и Паратетиса (Thesis) (in Russian).
  4. Brownstein, Chase Doran; Near, Thomas J (2024-06-01). "Evolutionary origins of the lampriform pelagic radiation". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 201 (2): 422–430. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad142. ISSN 0024-4082.