Eosaurichthys

Eosaurichthys is an extinct genus, or potentially subgenus, of marine saurichthyid ray-finned fish that lived during the late Permian epoch to potentially the Early Triassic epoch. It is one of the earliest saurichthyid genera known from the fossil record. If E. madagascariensis is a member of this genus, then it appears to have survived the Permian–Triassic [extinction event|Permian-Triassic extinction event].
Eosaurichthys is often treated as a subgenus of Saurichthys rather than a genus, with its type species referred to as Saurichthys ''chaoi.
Up to two species are known:
E. chaoi Liu & Wei, 1988 - Late Permian of China
E. madagascariensis - Early Triassic of Madagascar
Saurichthyid remains tentatively referred to E. madagascariensis'' are known from Anisian-aged freshwater beds of the Yerrapalli Formation in India.

Appearance

Eosaurichthys closely resembles its daughter genus, Saurichthys, in both form and morphology. Its body is fully covered by scales, while in Saurichthys the scale cover is reduced.