''Megalampris keyesi'' is an extinct
opah
Opahs, also commonly known as moonfish, sunfish (not to be confused with Molidae), kingfish, redfin ocean pan are large, colorful, deep-bodied pelagic lampriform fishes comprising the small family Lampridae (also spelled Lamprididae).
The famil ...
from the late
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
about 26 million years ago. It was recovered from the Otekaike Limestone in
North Otago
North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...
, by a team led by Ewan Fordyce from the Geology Department of the
University of Otago
, image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = University clock tower
, motto = la, Sapere aude
, mottoeng = Dare to be wise
, established = 1869; 152 years ago
, type = Public research collegiate u ...
. The species is named in honour of the New Zealand palaeontologist Ian Warwick Keyes (1938-2004). It is the largest fossil teleost fish from New Zealand, the spectacular remains comprise three large limestone blocks containing mostly caudal skeleton. These are on display in the
Otago Museum
Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...
,
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, New Zealand. Some of the vertebral centra preserved are 90 mm across. Comparison with the skeletons of living ''Lampris'' species suggest the giant fish was around in length when alive, which is twice the length of the largest living opah species, ''
Lampris guttatus
''Lampris guttatus'', commonly known as the opah, cravo, moonfish, kingfish, and Jerusalem haddock, is a large, colorful, deep-bodied pelagic zone, pelagic Lampriformes, lampriform fish belonging to the family (biology), family Lampridae, which ...
''.
[ The cleithra in the fossil are significantly enlarged to suggest that ''Megalampris'' used the pectoral swimming mode characteristic of moonfishes.
]
References
Lampridae
Oligocene fish
Extinct animals of New Zealand
Fossil taxa described in 2006
{{Lampriformes-stub