See text Cheirothricidae[1][2][3] is a family of extinct marine ray-finned fish, perhaps belonging to the Aulopiformes, although they are tentatively placed as indeterminate eurypterygians.

[4] They lived during the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian - Campanian, about 95 - 71 million years ago) and their fossil remains are found in the Middle East and Europe.

Established in 1901 by Arthur Smith Woodward, the family Cheirothricidae was widespread in the ancient Tethys Ocean, in the areas currently occupied by the Middle East and Europe.

[6][7] Members of this family are generally considered to be representatives of the Aulopiformes;[8] in particular, affinities have been proposed with the extinct group of Enchodontidae.

Like today's Cypselurus and Exocoetus, Cheirothricidae were also likely to perform a sort of gliding flight over water, thanks to the notable expansion of the pectoral and pelvic fins.