Eomyctophum
Extinct genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| Eomyctophum Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| 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 | |
| Species | |
| |
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]
