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 protocetids, such as Remingtonocetus, Indocetus, and Dorudon, and extant cetaceans.