Eolophotes Temporal range: Middle Eocene, | |
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E. lenis holotype, scale bar = 5 mm | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Lampriformes |
Family: | Lophotidae |
Genus: | † Eolophotes Daniltshenko, 1980 |
Species: | †E. lenis |
Binomial name | |
†Eolophotes lenis (Daniltshenko, 1962) | |
Synonyms | |
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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. [1] [2] [3] 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]