Saurichthyiformes

thumb|right|The Triassic [[Saurichthys was a highly specialized predator]] thumb|right|Saurichthys|Costasaurichthys paucitrichus fossil thumb|right|Saurichthys|Saurichthys curionii fossil thumb|right|Fossil of the Jurassic saurichthyid Saurorhynchus brevirostris thumb|right|Morphological comparison of Saurichthyidae with extant needlefish and flying fish. A. Sinosaurichthys|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. 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. 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.