''Mene maculata'', the moonfish, is the only extant member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Mene 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'' ...

'' and of the

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 ...

Menidae. The body is highly compressed laterally and very deep vertically. The ventral profile is steep, with a sharp ventral edge. The caudal (tail) fin is deeply forked. The mouth is small and protrusible. The body is silvery below and blue-green on the back, with three to four rows of dark gray spots on the upper side. The first two rays of the pelvic fin are greatly elongated, forming a prominent backward-pointing process on the underside of the fish. The moonfish is native to the Indian Ocean, including the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

, and in the western Pacific where they can be found near the bottom in brackish and marine waters in the vicinity of

reefs A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

. They occur at depths of from . This species can reach a length of TL. It is a commercially important species, being easy to dry without having to be salted.

References

Menidae Fish described in 1801 {{Ray-finned fish-stub

See also

References