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Background  Equipped with an effective predatory feeding mechanism enhanced by large and sharp teeth, pointed snout and elongate body, saurichthyiform fishes are considered common fish-eaters in the early Mesozoic aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, because of the similar body plan across species, saurichthyiforms are also regarded evolutionally conservative, with few morphological and ecological changes during their long history. However, their phylogenetic affinity remains unclear as to whether they are chondrostean, neopterygian or stem-actinopteran, and likewise the intrarelationships of the group have rarely been explored.    Methodology/Principal Findings  Here we report a new saurichthyiform from the Middle Triassic of Guizhou, China, based on the well-preserved specimens including a 3-D braincase. The new taxon,  Yelangichthys macrocephalus  gen. et sp. nov., is unique among saurichthyiforms in having a peculiar neurocranium with a broad orbital tectum, paired posterior myodomes, a deep, transverse fossa in the posterodorsal part of the orbit, and a feeding mechanism structured for durophagy. Phylogenetic analysis places  Yelangichthys  gen. nov. at the most basal position in the Saurichthyiformes as the sister to Saurichthyidae, and a new family Yelangichthyidae is erected to include only  Y. macrocephalus  gen. et sp. nov. The monophyly of the Chondrostei comprising [Saurichthyiformes + Acipenseriformes] Birgeriiformes is supported, but not the monophyly of  Saurichthys , the type genus of Saurichthyidae. With its outstanding osteological details,  Yelangichthys  gen. nov. greatly increases the neurocranial variations in saurichthyiforms, and its novel feeding structure suggests the consumption of hard-preys instead of fishes.    Conclusions/Significance  Our findings highlight the detailed osteology of a saurichthyiform braincase and its feeding design. We suggest that saurichthyiforms are closely allied to the Acipenseriformes. Saurichthyiforms were very diverse in the cranial osteology and they might have undergone a rapid evolutionary radiation via, for the new material here, transforming the feeding mechanism and thus exploiting the food resources unsuitable for other saurichthyiforms.

A New Saurichthyiform (Actinopterygii) with a Crushing Feeding Mechanism from the Middle Triassic of Guizhou (China)