Hiodontidae, commonly called mooneyes, is a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
ray-finned fish
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species.
The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...
with a single
included genus ''Hiodon''. The genus comprise two living species native to North America and three to five extinct
species recorded from
Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...
to
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...
age fossils. They are large-eyed, fork-tailed fish that superficially resemble
shads. The vernacular name comes from the metallic shine of their eyes.
The higher classification of the mooneyes is not yet fully established. Some sources have place them in their own order,
Hiodontiformes
Hiodontiformes is an order of ray-finned fish consisting of the two living species of the mooneye family, Hiodontidae, and three extinct genera.
These are traditionally classified within the order Osteoglossiformes, a placement some author ...
, while others retain them in the order
Osteoglossiformes
Osteoglossiformes (Greek: "bony tongues") is a relatively primitive order of ray-finned fish that contains two sub-orders, the Osteoglossoidei and the Notopteroidei. All of at least 245 living species inhabit freshwater. They are found in South ...
.
Species
*''
Hiodon alosoides
The goldeye (''Hiodon alosoides'') is a freshwater fish found in Canada and the northern United States. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hiodontidae, the other species being ''Hiodon tergisus''. The species name ''alosoides'' ...
''
(Rafinesque, 1819)
The goldeye, ''Hiodon alosoides'', is widespread across eastern North America, and is notable for a conspicuous golden
iris
Iris most often refers to:
*Iris (anatomy), part of the eye
*Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess
* ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
* Iris (color), an ambiguous color term
Iris or IRIS may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional ent ...
in the eyes. It prefers turbid slower-moving waters of lakes and rivers, where it feeds on a wide variety of organisms including insects,
crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...
s, small fish, and
mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...
s. The fish has been reported up to in length.
*†''
Hiodon consteniorum
Hiodontidae, commonly called mooneyes, is a family of ray-finned fish with a single included genus ''Hiodon''. The genus comprise two living species native to North America and three to five extinct species recorded from Paleocene to Eocene age ...
''
Li & Wilson, 1994
*†''
Hiodon falcatus
Hiodontidae, commonly called mooneyes, is a family of ray-finned fish with a single included genus ''Hiodon''. The genus comprise two living species native to North America and three to five extinct species recorded from Paleocene to Eocene age ...
''
(Grande, 1979)
*†''
Hiodon rosei
Hiodontidae, commonly called mooneyes, is a family of ray-finned fish with a single included genus ''Hiodon''. The genus comprise two living species native to North America and three to five extinct species recorded from Paleocene to Eocene age ...
''
(Hussakof, 1916)
*''
Hiodon tergisus
''Hiodon tergisus'', the mooneye, is a freshwater fish that is widespread across eastern North America.
Anatomy and appearance
''H. tergisus'' is characterized by its silvery appearance, strongly compressed deep body, and keel that extends from ...
''
Lesueur, 1818
The mooneye, ''Hiodon tergisus'', is also widespread across eastern
North America, living in the clear waters of lakes, ponds, and rivers. It consumes aquatic
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s,
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
s, and
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
. Mooneyes can reach in length.
*†''
Hiodon woodruffi
''Hiodon woodruffi'' is an extinct species of bony fish in the mooneye family, Hiodontidae. The species is known from fossils found in the early Eocene deposits of northern Washington state in the United States and late Eocene deposits in northw ...
''
Wilson, 1978
An
Early Eocene,
Ypresian
In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age or lowest stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by the Eocene Lutetian Age. The Ypresian ...
to
Late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "d ...
,
Lutetian
The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the ...
species. ''Hiodon woodruffi'' was described from fossils found in the
Klondike Mountain Formation, Washington and
Horsefly shale, British Columbia. Further finds have increased the known paleogeographic range to include the
Kishenehn Formation The Kishenehn Formation is a Paleogene stratigraphic unit in Montana. Fossil amiiforme and teleost fish have been found in outcrops of the formation's Coal Creek Member in Glacier National Park. Mosquitos have also been found in the Coal Creek Me ...
of northwestern Montana.
*?†''
Hiodon shuyangensis
Hiodontidae, commonly called mooneyes, is a family of ray-finned fish with a single included genus ''Hiodon''. The genus comprise two living species native to North America and three to five extinct species recorded from Paleocene to Eocene age ...
''
Shen, 1989
References
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10524275
Hiodontidae
Fish of North America
es:Hiodontidae
fr:Hiodontidae
gl:Hiodóntidos
it:Hiodontidae
hu:Hiodontidae