Enoplophthalmus
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. It appears to be closely related to the modern capelin. Until the description of the Paleocene-aged Speirsaenigma from Canada, it was the oldest known fossil smelt genus.
The following species are known:
- †E. alsaticus Gaudant, 1984 - Early Oligocene of France, potentially late Oligocene of Armenia
- †E. rhenanus - Early Miocene of Germany
- †E. robustus - Early Miocene of Germany
- †E. schlumbergeri Sauvage, 1880 - Early Oligocene of France
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.