| Carpathichthys Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Alepocephaliformes |
| Family: | Alepocephalidae |
| Genus: | † Carpathichthys Jerzmanska, 1979 |
| Species: | †C. polonicus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Carpathichthys polonicus Jerzmanska, 1979 | |
Carpathichthys ("Carpathian fish") is an extinct genus of prehistoric slickhead fish from the Oligocene. It contains a single species, C. polonicus, from the Menilite Formation in the Carpathian Flysch Belt of Poland, in what was formerly the Paratethys Sea. [1] [2]
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It is one of the very few known fossil slickheads, a group of ray-finned fishes that are assumed to have ancient origins, but have almost no presence in the geological record, likely due to their preference for deep-water habitats. [3] The only other known fossil slickhead is an indeterminate member of Bathyprion from the same formation, indicating that it was likely deposited in an abyssal habitat. [2] [4] Carpathichthys appears to be closely related to the extant genus Rouleina . [2]
