Thoracopterus

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.

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, 1992 → Italopterus martinisi ( Tintori & Sassi, 1992 )
 * Thoracopterus magnificus Tintori & Sassi, 1992 → Italopterus magnificus ( Tintori & Sassi, 1992 )