Saurichthyiformes

Saurichthyiformes
Temporal range: Changhsingian-Aalenian
Life restoration of Saurichthys
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: †Saurichthyiformes
Aldinger, 1937
Families
The Triassic †Saurichthys was a highly specialized predator
Costasaurichthys paucitrichus fossil
Saurichthys curionii fossil
Fossil of the Jurassic saurichthyid †Saurorhynchus brevirostris
Morphological comparison of †Saurichthyidae with extant needlefish and flying fish. A. †Sinosaurichthys longipectoralis; B. †Sinosaurichthys longimedialis; C. †Sinosaurichthys minuta; D. †Saurichthys dawaziensis from Middle Triassic of Dawazi Section, Luoping, Yunnan, China (based on Wu et al. 2009). E. Atlantic needlefish Strongylura marina (Family Belonidae). F. Bluntnose flyingfish Prognichthys gibbifrons (Family Exocoetidae). E and F redrawn from images at http://www.fishbase.org/images/species that were originally from Cervigón et al. (1992).

Saurichthyiformes is an extinct order of ray-finned fish which existed in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America, during the late Permian to early Middle Jurassic.[1][2][3][4] Saurichthyiiformes comprise two families, Saurichthyidae and Yelangichthyidae. Yelangichthyidae is monotypic, containing only the genus Yelangichthys. The gar or needlefish-like Saurichthyidae is primarily known from the genus Saurichthys. Additionally, the subgenera Saurorhynchus Costasaurichthys, Eosaurichthys, Lepidosaurichthys, and Sinosaurichthys are frequently used to group species, and are sometimes considered separate genera. Species are known from both marine end freshwater deposits. They had their highest diversity during the Early and Middle Triassic.[5] Their phylogenetic position is uncertain, while they have often been considered members of Chondrostei, and thus related to living sturgeons and paddlefish, phylogenetic analysis of well-preserved remains has considered this relationship equivocal. They may actually belong to the stem-group of Actinopterygii, and thus not closely related to any living group of ray-finned fish.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wuetal2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Stensiö, E. (1925). "Triassic Fishes from Spitzebergen, Part II". Kungliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlinga. 2: 1–126.
  3. ^ Cartanyà, J., ed. (1999). An overview of the Middle Triassic actinopterygians from Alcover, Mont-ral and El Pinetell (Catalonia, Spain). In: G. Arratia and H. P. Schultze (eds.) Mesozoic Fishes 2—Systematics and Fossil Record: Verlag Dr. F. Pfeil, München. pp. 535–551.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. ^ Maxwell, E.E. (2016): First Middle Jurassic record of Saurichthyidae (Actinopterygii). Paläontologische Zeitschrift 90:287-291 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-015-0281-5
  5. ^ Romano C., Kogan I., Jenks J., Jerjen I., Brinkmann W. (2012). "Saurichthys and other fossil fishes from the late Smithian (Early Triassic) of Bear Lake County (Idaho, USA), with a discussion of saurichthyid palaeogeography and evolution" (PDF). Bulletin of Geosciences. 87: 543–570. doi:10.3140/bull.geosci.1337.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Argyriou, Thodoris; Giles, Sam; Friedman, Matt; Romano, Carlo; Kogan, Ilja; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo R. (December 2018). "Internal cranial anatomy of Early Triassic species of †Saurichthys (Actinopterygii: †Saurichthyiformes): implications for the phylogenetic placement of †saurichthyiforms". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 18 (1): 161. Bibcode:2018BMCEE..18..161A. doi:10.1186/s12862-018-1264-4. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 6211452. PMID 30382811.