Ichthyolestes Temporal range: Early Eocene, 50 Ma |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | †Pakicetidae |
Genus: |
†Ichthyolestes Dehm & Oettingen-Spielberg 1958 |
Species: | †I. pinfoldi |
Binomial name | |
Ichthyolestes pinfoldi Dehm & Oettingen-Spielberg 1958 |
Ichthyolestes ("fish thief") is a genus of extinct early whale belonging to the family Pakicetidae endemic to northern Pakistan, living during the Lutetian stage.
Ichthyolestes, the oldest of the pakicetids, had semicircular canals in the inner ear the same size as the living relatives of cetaceans, the artiodactyls, in contrast to the reduced size found in later pakicetids and , such as Remingtonocetus, Indocetus, and Dorudon, and extant cetaceans.