Presumably the Bathyclupeids branched off from the early Beryciformes to the Perciformes in the Cretaceous. Fossil remains indicate the Bathyclupeids were well established by this period. From their probable origin in the Indian Ocean the path of migration led through the East Indies, across the Pacific and the still open waters of the Isthmus of Panama to the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. There has been much debate as to where the Bathyclupeids belong in the family tree of fishes. Alcock (1891), who first described the genus, believed it belonged in the order Isospondyli, family Clupeidae. Goode and Bean (1896), referred the genus to the order Teleocephali (Berycoidei in part) and raised the group to family status, Bathyclupeida6. Norman (1938-44), in his draft analysis considered the Bathyclupeids in the order Perciformes, and Berg (1958), erected the order Bathyclupeiformes. Patterson (1964), placed it with the Perciformes, as have Greraiwood, Rosen, Weitzman and Myers (1966). It is now generally accepted that the Bathyclupeids belong in the order Perciformes, sub-order Percoidei, family Bafliyclupeidae. The family is limited to one genus with six described species, Bathyclupea hoskynii Alcock 1891, Andaman Sea; B. argentea Goode and Bean 1896, Caribbean Sea; B. malayana Weber 1913, FloresSea; B. megaceps Fowler 1938, Philippines; B. gracilis Fowler 1938, Philippines; and B. schroederi Dick 1962, Caribbean Sea.