| Enoplophthalmus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Osmeriformes |
| Family: | Osmeridae |
| Genus: | † Enoplophthalmus Sauvage, 1880 |
| Type species | |
| †Enoplophthalmus schlumbergeri Sauvage, 1880 | |
| Species | |
| |
Enoplophthalmus is an extinct genus of prehistoric freshwater smelt that inhabited Europe during the Oligocene and early Miocene epoches, from the Rupelian to the Aquitanian. [1] [2] It appears to be closely related to the modern capelin (Mallotus villosus). [3] Until the description of the Paleocene-aged Speirsaenigma from Canada, it was the oldest known fossil smelt genus. [4]
The following species are known: [5]
- †E. alsaticusGaudant, 1984 - Early Oligocene of France (Pechelbronn Formation), [6] potentially late Oligocene of Armenia [7]
- †E. rhenanus(Weiler, 1963) - Early Miocene (Aquitanian) of Germany (Hydrobienkalk Formation) [8]
- †E. robustus(Weiler, 1963) - Early Miocene (Aquitanian) of Germany (Hydrobienkalk Formation) [8]
- †E. schlumbergeri Sauvage, 1880 (type species) - Early Oligocene of France (Calcaires de Campagne-Calavon) [9]
Indeterminate otoliths of this genus are known from Romania. [5]
Alongside Dapalis , Enoplopthalmus appears to have been one of the dominant freshwater fishes that inhabited Europe during the late Paleogene and early Neogene. Uniquely, Enoplopthalmus is most closely related to capelin, a fish of northern temperate and Arctic affinities, while Dapalis was related to the glassfishes, which are a mainly tropical group today. This indicates that there was significantly less provincialism in fish distribution during the mid-Cenozoic, allowing for these now widely separated groups to coexist. [3]
