Dibango volans
Dibango volans is an extinct species of percomorph teleost fish from the Eocene Monte Bolca site in Italy. D. volans is the only species in the genus Dibango, known from two well-preserved specimens. Originally identified in the late 18th century by Giovanni Serafino Volta, it was known as Pegasus ''volans until its redescription by Davesne & Carnevale in 2025, since the generic name Pegasus was already used to name the seamoth genus Pegasus''.
Research history
This species was first described by Giovanni Serafino Volta in 1796, and named Pegasus volans by Volta based on two fossil specimens; unbeknownst to him, Carl Linnaeus had already coined Pegasus volans 30 years prior in 1766, which would later be recognized as a junior synonym of Pegasus volitans, a species of sea moth still alive today. The name Pegasus volans continued to be used in the literature by various authors to refer to Volta's specimens until around 2014, when authors started adopting the notation of the genus as Pegasus ''volans, with the quotations signifying a provisional name.Davesne & Carnevale redescribed the taxon and assigned it the new species name Dibango volans, with the new generic name, Dibango, honouring Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango. The specific name volans was retained from its original description, and is a Latin word meaning 'flying' and 'moving swiftly'. This study also determined D. volans'' to be a member of Percomorpha though of uncertain placement.
Description
The holotype specimen, MNHN.F.BOL65/BOL66, consists of an incomplete articulated skeleton missing the posterior part of the body. The only referred specimen, MCSNV T.293/T.294, preserves less of the postcranial skeleton compared to the holotype, with more of the axial skeleton being lost. The holotype's head length is, while the referred specimen's head length is slightly smaller, at. Similar to other fish fossils from Monte Bolca, both specimens are compression fossils, being preserved as a part and counterpart.Dibango is notable for its unusual body plan, with an extremely elongate body, a highly reduced abdominal region, and enlarged dorsal, pelvic and anal fins. The elongated pelvic fins attaches to an external gut located just below the head, similar to the exterilium of certain larval teleosts. This unique morphology is reminiscent of pelagic fish larvae which live as ichthyoplankton, but the level of ossification on the fossils, with a fully ossified skeleton, suggests that they represent adult individuals ; it is thus more likely that Dibango was a highly paedomorphic fish where mature adults retained a larva-like appearance.
The species possesses tiny dermal spinules covering its whole body, forming an especially dense cluster in the abdominal region; these scales are stellate and bear an upright spine. Pigmentation is visible on the holotype through examination using ultraviolet light.