The moonfish of the genus ''Mene'', 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 The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, where it is a popular food fish, especially in the Philippines, where it is known as ''bilong-bilong'', ''chabita'', ''hiwas'' or ''tahas''.Small-scale fisheries of San Miguel Bay, Philippines: options for management and research. . As a genus, ''Mene'' has a long fossil history, with species found in marine sediments throughout the Cenozoic Era. The earliest accepted species, '' M. purdyi'' from the Paleocene of Peru, 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. Almost all of the species are known primarily from the

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...

; the

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

record is rather sparse, if not totally nonexistent, with some otoliths found in Miocene

strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...

, and no whole or even partial specimens known from Pliocene or Pleistocene strata. Anatomical and recent molecular studies strongly suggest a relationship with the pomfrets, dolphinfishes, remoras and the jacks in the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Carangiformes.

Gallery

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1000px height:auto barincrement:15px PlotArea = left:10px bottom:50px top:10px right:10px Period = from:-65.5 till:10 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:-65.5 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:-65.5 TimeAxis = orientation:hor AlignBars = justify Colors = #legends id:CAR value:claret id:ANK value:rgb(0.4,0.3,0.196) id:HER value:teal id:HAD value:green id:OMN value:blue id:black value:black id:white value:white id:cenozoic value:rgb(0.54,0.54,0.258) id:paleogene value:rgb(0.99,0.6,0.32) id:paleocene value:rgb(0.99,0.65,0.37) id:eocene value:rgb(0.99,0.71,0.42) id:oligocene value:rgb(0.99,0.75,0.48) id:neogene value:rgb(0.999999,0.9,0.1) id:miocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.999999,0) id:pliocene value:rgb(0.97,0.98,0.68) id:quaternary value:rgb(0.98,0.98,0.5) id:pleistocene value:rgb(0.999999,0.95,0.68) id:holocene value:rgb(0.999,0.95,0.88) BarData= bar:eratop bar:space bar:periodtop bar:space bar:NAM1 bar:space bar:period bar:space bar:era PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 shift:(7,-4) bar:periodtop from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text: Paleocene from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text: Eocene from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

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 ...

from: -23.03 till: -5.332 color:miocene text: Miocene from: -5.332 till: -2.588 color:pliocene text: Plio. from: -2.588 till: -0.0117 color:pleistocene text: Pleist. from: -0.0117 till: 0 color:holocene text: H. bar:eratop from: -65.5 till: -23.03 color:paleogene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q. PlotData= align:left fontsize:M mark:(line,white) width:5 anchor:till align:left color:eocene bar:NAM1 from: -55.8 till: 0 text: Mene PlotData= align:center textcolor:black fontsize:M mark:(line,black) width:25 bar:period from: -65.5 till: -55.8 color:paleocene text: Paleocene from: -55.8 till: -33.9 color:eocene text: Eocene from: -33.9 till: -23.03 color:oligocene text:

from: -23.03 till: -2.588 color:neogene text:

from: -2.588 till: 0 color:quaternary text: Q.

References

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."
{{Taxonbar, from=Q325846 Menidae Carangiformes Paleocene fish Eocene fish Oligocene fish Miocene fish Prehistoric fish of Africa Paleogene fish of Asia Cenozoic fish of Europe Prehistoric fish of South America Extant Thanetian first appearances Thanetian genera Ypresian genera Lutetian genera Bartonian genera Priabonian genera Rupelian genera Chattian genera Aquitanian genera Burdigalian genera Langhian genera Serravallian genera Tortonian genera Messinian genera Holocene genera Fish genera with one living species