Thoracopterus

Extinct genus of fishes

Thoracopterus
Temporal range: Carnian
PreꞒ
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Perleidiformes
Family:
Thoracopteridae
Genus:
Thoracopterus

Bronn, 1858
Binomial name
Thoracopterus niederristi
Bronn, 1858

Thoracopterus is an extinct genus of overwater gliding ray-finned fish from the Carnian age of the Late Triassic. It is a monotypic taxon, with the type species being T. niederristi.[1]

Thoracopterus had elongate pectoral fins, similar to modern Exocoetidae, which are used to glide overwater in order to escape aquatic predators. Thoracopterus represents one of the earliest known example for overwater gliding in actinopterygians.

Synonyms

The following species that were originally referred to Thoracopterus were later redescribed as Italopterus:

  • Thoracopterus martinisi Tintori & Sassi, 1992Italopterus martinisi (Tintori & Sassi, 1992)[1]
  • Thoracopterus magnificus Tintori & Sassi, 1992Italopterus magnificus (Tintori & Sassi, 1992)[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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. doi:10.1080/14772019.2022.2029595. ISSN 1477-2019. S2CID 247731689.

See also

  • Fishes of the World by Joseph S. Nelson (page 95)
  • Wildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the Ancient Supercontinent (Life of the Past) by Pat Vickers Rich, Thomas Hewitt Rich, Francesco Coffa, and Steven Morton
  • The Rise of Fishes: 500 Million Years of Evolution by John A. Long
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Taxon identifiers
Thoracopterus


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