Gonorynchidae is a family of ray-finned fish in the order Gonorynchiformes, which has a number of fossil taxa and one extant genus, Gonorynchus, the beaked salmons. They are an ancient group, with fossils known from as far back as the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous. The family name comes from Ancient Greek γωνία (gōnía), meaning "angle", and ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos), meaning "snout", referring to the angular snout that the type species use to dig themselves into the sand.
John Richardson is the original author of the family.
Taxonomy
The following genera are known:
- Aperioptus <small>Richardson, 1848</small> (Incertae sedis)
- †Charitopsis <small>Gayet 1993</small>
- †Charitosomus <small>Hosius & Von Der Marck 1885</small>
- †Gonorynchidarum <small>Rana, 1988</small> [<nowiki/>otolith]
- Gonorynchus <small>Scopoli, 1777</small> - beaked salmons
- †Ramallichthys <small>Gayet 1982</small>
An indeterminate gonorynchid (previously classified in Charitosomus) is known from fossil remains from the late Albian or early-mid Cenomanian Kwango Group of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.