Mene rhombea Temporal range: | |
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Mene rhombea, from Mount Bolca, Verona | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Carangiformes |
Family: | Menidae |
Genus: | Mene |
Species: | †M. rhombea |
Binomial name | |
†Mene rhombea (Volta, 1796) | |
Synonyms | |
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Mene rhombea is an extinct perciform fish belonging to the family Menidae. During the Middle Eocene (Lutetian epoch), about 48 to 40 mya, these fishes lived in the Tethys Ocean, 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.
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.
Their greatly valued fossils comes from the laggerstat Monte Bolca, about 30 kilometres north-east of Verona, Italy.
The milkfish is a widespread species of ray-finned fish found throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is the sole living species in the family Chanidae, and the only living member of the genus Chanos. The repeating scientific name (tautonym) is from Greek khanos.
Monte Bolca is a lagerstätte near Verona, Italy that was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, and is still an important source of fossils from the Eocene.
Frogfishes are any member of the anglerfish family Antennariidae, of the order Lophiiformes. Antennariids are known as anglerfish in Australia, where the term "frogfish" refers to members of the unrelated family Batrachoididae. Frogfishes are found in almost all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas around the world, the primary exception being the Mediterranean Sea.
Pycnodus is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Eocene period. It is wastebasket taxon, although many fossils from Jurassic or Cretaceous are assigned to this genus, only Eocene species, P. apodus is valid. As its name suggests, it is the type genus of Pycnodontiformes.
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, where it is a popular food fish, especially in the Philippines, where it is known as bilong-bilong, chabita, hiwas or tahas.
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. It was one of the first fossil sites with high quality preservation known to Europeans, and is still an important source of fossils from the Eocene.
Blochius is an extinct genus of prehistoric billfish from the Eocene. It is only known from the Monte Bolca deposits in Italy, and was likely restricted to shallow, tropical waters of the Tethys Sea.
Bajaichthys is an extinct Ypresian zeid from the Monte Bolca Lagerstätten of Italy. It contains a single species, B. elegans, and is the only member of the family Bajaichthyidae.
Mene oblonga is a species of ray-finned fish that first appeared in the Monte Bolca Lagerstatten during the Lutetian epoch of the Eocene. For a menid, it has a very shallow body, especially in comparison with the sympatric Mene rhombea. Its fossils are very rare in Monte Bolca. A single fossil from the early Oligocene, referred to as "Mene oblonga var. pusilla," was found in Chiavon, Italy.
Euzaphlegidae is a family of extinct escolar-like fish closely related to the snake mackerels. Fossils of euzaphlegids are found from Paleocene to Late Miocene-aged marine strata of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains, India, Iran, Turkmenistan, Italy, and Southern California.
Ceratoichthys is an extinct genus of lookdown-like prehistoric jackfish that lived during the late Ypresian epoch, of the Early Eocene. It contains a single species, C. pinnatiformis of Monte Bolca, Italy. It and Vomeropsis are the only known members of the extinct subfamily Vomeropsinae.
Spinacanthus cuneiformis is an extinct prehistoric tetraodontid bony fish that lived from the Lutetian epoch of Eocene Monte Bolca.
Aeoliscoides is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived from the early Eocene. It is known from a single species, A. longirostris, from the famous Monte Bolca site of Italy. It was a member of Centriscidae, making it a relative of modern shrimpfish and snipefish. Its name references its close resemblance to the extant shrimpfish genus Aeoliscus.
Psettopsis subarcuatus is an extinct prehistoric species of moonyfish that lived during the Lutetian epoch of Monte Bolca, Italy.
Sparnodus is an extinct genus of prehistoric perciform fish in the family Sparidae. Species of this genus were nektonic carnivores. These fishes lived in the Cenozoic Era, in the Oligocene and Paleocene.
An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water.
Protobalistum imperiale is an extinct prehistoric tetraodontid bony fish that lived from the Lutetian epoch of Eocene Monte Bolca.
Spinacanthidae is an extinct prehistoric family of tetraodontid bony fish that lived from the Lutetian epoch of Eocene Monte Bolca.
Scatophagus is a genus of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Scatophagidae. They are found in the Indo-Pacific region. Species in this genus are referred as spotted scats.
Lessiniabatis is an extinct genus of highly unusual stingray from the Early Eocene of Italy. It contains a single species, L. aenigmatica. It is known from three specimens, one nearly complete, from the famous Monte Bolca lagerstätte.