Thoracopteridae Explained

Thoracopteridae is an extinct family of prehistoric bony fish classified with the order Peltopleuriformes, containing four genera: Thoracopterus, Gigantopterus, Potanichthys and Italopterus. This lineage of Triassic flying fish-like Perleidiformes converted their pectoral and pelvic fins into broad wings very similar to those of their modern counterparts. However, this group is not related to modern flying fish from the family Exocoetidae, instead being a case of convergent evolution.^[1]

Classification

• Family †Thoracopteridae Griffith, 1977 sensu Xu et al., 2013^{[2] [3]}
  • Genus †Thoracopterus Bronn, 1858
    • †Thoracopterus niederristi Bronn, 1858
  • Genus †Gigantopterus Abel, 1906
    • †Gigantopterus telleri Abel, 1906
  • Genus †Potanichthys Xu et al., 2013
    • †Potanichthys xingyiensis Xu et al., 2013 (or †Potanichthys wushaensis Tintori et al., 2012)
  • Genus †Italopterus Shen & Arratia, 2022^[4]
    • †Italopterus martinisi Tintori & Sassi, 1992
    • †Italopterus magnificus Tintori & Sassi, 1992

Bibliography

• Sepkoski . Jack . A compendium of fossil marine animal genera . Bulletins of American Paleontology . 364 . 560 . 2002 . 2011-05-17 .

Notes and References

1. Xu . Guang-Hui . Zhao . Li-Jun . Gao . Ke-Qin . Wu . Fei-Xiang . A new stem-neopterygian fish from the Middle Triassic of China shows the earliest over-water gliding strategy of the vertebrates . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences . 7 January 2013 . 280 . 1750 . 20122261 . 10.1098/rspb.2012.2261 . 23118437 . 3574442 .
2. Web site: Mikko's Phylogeny Archive. Haaramo. Mikko. 2007. †Peltopleuriformes . 30 December 2016.
3. Book: Nelson. Joseph S.. Grande. Terry C.. Wilson. Mark V. H.. 2016. Fishes of the World. 5th. John Wiley & Sons. 9781118342336.
4. Shen . Chenchen . Arratia . Gloria . 2021-10-02 . Re-description of the sexually dimorphic peltopleuriform fish Wushaichthys exquisitus (Middle Triassic, China): taxonomic implications and phylogenetic relationships . Journal of Systematic Palaeontology . 19 . 19 . 1317–1342 . 10.1080/14772019.2022.2029595 . 247731689 . 1477-2019.