Mene maculata

Mene maculata
Mene maculata, conventional and X-ray images
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Carangiformes
Family:	Menidae
Genus:	Mene
Species:	M. maculata
Binomial name
Mene maculata (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801)
Synonyms
Zeus maculatus Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801

Mene maculata, the moonfish, is the only extant member of the genus Mene and of the family 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 and Persian Gulf, and in the western Pacific where they can be found near the bottom in brackish and marine waters in the vicinity of reefs. They occur at depths of from 50 to 200 metres (160 to 660 ft). This species can reach a length of 30 centimetres (12 in) TL. It is a commercially important species, being easy to dry without having to be salted.

See also

• Living fossil