Menidae
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Menidae".

Mene Fossil range: Thanetian to Present[1]
Mene oblonga & Mene rhombea
Conservation status
fossil and living
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Menidae Genus: Mene
Species
Mene maculata †Mene rhombea †Mene purdyi †Mene oblonga †Mene phosphatica †Mene triangulum †Mene novaehispaniae †?Mene kapurdiensis

The moonfish of the genus Mene ("Crescent"), the sole extant genus of the family Menidae are disk-shaped fish which bear a vague resemblance to gourami, thanks to their thread-like pelvic fins. Today, the genus is represented only by Mene maculata of the Indo-Pacific, where it is a popular food fish, especially in the Philippines, where it is known as "danggit".

Mene is a long-lived genus, with species found in marine sediments throughout the Cenozoic Era. The earliest accepted species, M. purdyi from the Paleocene of Peru, already resemble later species, such as M. rhombea of the Monte Bolca lagerstätte, and even the living species, M. maculata. Experts remain undecided whether the Tunisian species, M. phosphatica is from the Lower Paleocene, thus making it older than M. purdyi, or whether it is from the Ypresian epoch of the Eocene.

Beyond being a group of percoid fishes, the affinity of Mene remains obscure. Anatomical and recent molecular studies strongly suggest a relationship with the pomfrets, dolphinfish, and the jacks. The genus' ancestry is particularly obscure, though, it is suggested that some Cretaceous acanthomorph fish, particularly Aipichthyoides of Cretaceous Lebanon, was close to Mene's ancestry.

References

1. ^ Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 364: p.560. Retrieved on 2007-12-25. 

External links

• "A new species of Mene (Perciformes: Menidae) from the Paleocene of South America, with notes on paleoenvironment and a brief review of menid fishes."

	This article about a prehistoric fish is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This Perciformes article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Paleontology portal