Babelichthys is an extinct genus of crestfish from Western Iran's Pabdeh Formation during the middle to late Eocene. One species is known: Babelichthys olneyi.[1]

Babelichthys
Temporal range: Middle-Late Eocene
Part and counterpart slabs.

Scale bar = 20 mm

Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lampriformes
Family: Lophotidae
Genus: Babelichthys
Davesne 2017
Type species
Babelichthys olneyi
Davesne 2017

The single known specimen consists of a head and the front-most region of the dorsal fin, preserving the extremely elongated and enlarged first dorsal-fin ray.[1]

It and the extant unicorn crestfish (Eumecichthys fiski) are each other's closest known relatives.[1]

Scale bar = 10 mm

Etymology

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The genus name Babelichthys means “Babel fish” in Greek, named after the teleost-like, ear-dwelling, polyglot extraterrestrial species from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, as a reference to the very peculiar, almost alien-like, appearance of the genus. The species name "olneyi" is named after John E. Olney for his work on the anatomy and ontogeny of Lampriformes.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d 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.