Aluvarus praeimperialis is an extinct ray-finned fish, known from two headless fossil specimens found in the Pabdeh Formation, a Late Eocene stratum from the Priabonian epoch, of what is now Iran.[1][2][3]A. praeimperialis was originally thought to be a luvar, described as "Luvarus praeimperialis", as it was thought to be a predecessor to the modern luvar. A later reexamination of the specimens showed that they were too incomplete to demonstrate such a conclusion and had no clear exclusive shared traits with luvar, and were renamed "Aluvarus", meaning "not luvar" or "different than luvar".[4] However, some authorities still retain it as a luvar.[1]
The Pabdeh Formation was originally dated to the early Oligocene, but more recent analysis indicates it to be from the mid-late Eocene, most likely the Priabonian. It inhabited an open ocean habitat with a significant deepwater component to the fauna.[2][3]
