''Eochondrosteus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of extinct actinopterygian (ray-finned fish), comprising one species, ''E. sinensis'' (

monotypy In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

) from the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a ...

strata in Gansu Province (Beishan Hills), China (previously interpreted as

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Pale ...

in age). It is suggested to be the most basal acipenseriform ( sturgeon,

paddlefish Paddlefish (family Polyodontidae) are a family of ray-finned fish belonging to order Acipenseriformes, and one of two living groups of the order alongside sturgeons (Acipenseridae). They are distinguished from other fish by their titular elongl ...

, and their fossil relatives). It was originally described in 2005, and then redescribed in 2020 in Chinese. Other authors have considered the placement of ''Eochondrosteus'' within the Acipenseriformes as tentative.

References

Acipenseriformes Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Triassic bony fish {{Triassic-fish-stub