Saurichthys

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Saurichthys
Fossil range: Early to Mid Triassic
Saurichthys seefeldensis attacking Preondactylus
Saurichthys seefeldensis attacking Preondactylus
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Palaeonisciformes
Genus: Saurichthys

Saurichthys ('lizard fish') is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Triassic period. Species averaged about one meter (3 ft 4 in) long.

Saurichthys was an elongated creature similar to the modern pike. It is presumed to have hunted in a similar way to the pike, attacking from an ambush at high speed. Its jaws were extremely long, making up a third of the total body length, and ended in a sharp, beak-like tip. Fossil evidence indicates that Saurichthys attacked, or possibly scavenged the corpses of fishing pterosaurs such as Preondactylus.

Their closest modern-day relatives include the sturgeons and paddlefish, and the bowfins.