''Mene rhombea'' is an extinct

perciform Perciformes (), also called the Percomorpha or Acanthopteri, is an order or superorder of ray-finned fish. If considered a single order, they are the most numerous order of vertebrates, containing about 41% of all bony fish. Perciformes means " ...

fish belonging to the family

Menidae 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'' ...

. During the Middle

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'', " ...

(

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 ...

epoch), about 48 to 40 mya, these fishes lived in the

Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...

, a large tropical sea in the area corresponding to the current Mediterranean. This ocean was extended between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia. At this time, where Monte Bolca is today, ''M. rhombea'', and its relative, '' M. oblonga'', lived in a tropical lagoon.

Description

''Mene rhombea'' had a laterally compressed body, very long and slim pelvic fins and a wide triangular tail fin. As suggested by their fossils' small, upturned mouths, and by comparison of its living relative, as ''Mene maculata'', fishes of this species were planktivore. The species shows close affinities with contemporary species inhabiting the coral reef environment of the Indo-Pacific warm seas.

Distribution

Their greatly valued fossils comes from the laggerstat Monte

Bolca Bolca is a village in the Veneto, on the southern margin of the Italian Alps. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Vestenanova, in the province of Verona. The area is famous for the marine fossils from the lagerstätte of ''Monte Bolca''. ...

, about 30 kilometres north-east of

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

, Italy.

Gallery

File :Mene_rhombea.jpg, Restoration of ''Mene rhombea'' File:Menidae - Mene rhombea.JPG, ''Mene rhombea'', from Monte

, at the

Naturhistorisches Museum The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...

, Wien File:Menidae - Mene rhombea 001.jpg, ''Mene rhombea'', from

File:Mene rhombeaIMG 3196.JPG, Mene rhombea specimen of the Lessini mountains in imprint and counterimpress

External links

Biolib

ZipcodeZoo

Prehistoric perciformes Eocene fish Menidae Prehistoric life of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1796 {{paleo-perciformes-stub