Paratype of P. xingyiensis, Paleozoological Museum of China
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subclass:
Neopterygii
Order:
†Perleidiformes
Family:
†Thoracopteridae
Genus:
†Potanichthys Xu et al., 2013
Species:
†P. xingyiensis
Binomial name
†Potanichthys xingyiensis
Xu et al., 2013
Potanichthys is a fossil genus of thoracopterid fish found in deposits from China dating to the Ladinian age of the Middle Triassic epoch. The type species is P. xingyiensis, though P. wushaensis is considered as the alternative species name.[1] It is known to have been the first vertebrate ever to have glided over water, and thus the first fish ever that had over-water gliding strategy. The genus name Potanichthys is a portmanteau of the Ancient Greek ποτάνος (potanos, winged/flying) and ιχθύς (ichthys, fish). The species epithet refers to Xingyi city which is near the site where Potanichthys was discovered.[2][3]
Potanichthys was a small fish with an estimated total length of 15.3 cm (6.0 in). It shared aerodynamic characteristics with the modern flying fish, including a pair of greatly enlarged pectoral fins and a pair of pelvic fins. The pectoral fins would have acted as 'primary wings', while the pelvic fins would have functioned as 'auxiliary wings', making Potanichthys to have a 'four-winged' body plan. In addition, the asymmetrical and deeply forked caudal fin, with the ventral lobe much stronger than the dorsal lobe, would have generated enough power to launch Potanichthys over water to glide. This anatomical similarity is a result of convergent evolution, meaning that both lineages, thoracopterids and exocoetids (family of flying fish), evolved such features independently at different times: throacopterids during the Middle Triassic and exocoetids during the Eocene.[2]
^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.
^ abXu, G. -H.; Zhao, L. -J.; Gao, K. -Q.; Wu, F. -X. (2013). "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. 280 (1750): 20122261. doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2261. PMC 3574442. PMID 23118437.
^Subbaraman, N. (2012). "Oldest flying fish fossil found in China". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.11707. S2CID 131398231.
epithet refers to Xingyi city which is near the site where Potanichthys was discovered. Potanichthys was a small fish with an estimated total length of 15...
very similar to those of their modern counterparts. The Ladinian genus Potanichthys is the oldest member of this clade, suggesting that these fish began...
gliders. Extinct fish of the family Thoracopteridae, like Thoracopterus or Potanichthys, were similar to modern flying fish (gliding ability thanks to enlarged...
Genus †Thoracopterus Bronn, 1858 Genus †Gigantopterus Abel, 1906 Genus †Potanichthys Xu et al., 2013 Genus †Italopterus Shen & Arratia, 2022 Sepkoski, Jack...
species of Thoracopterus. The species might be synonymous with the species Potanichthys xingyiensis Xu et al. (2013). Tinirau Gen. et sp. nov Valid Swartz Middle...
Group Australia A porolepiform sarcopterygian, a species of Porolepis. Potanichthys Gen. et sp. nov Valid Xu et al. Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Falang Formation...
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