Dorypterus is a small, extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish.

It lived during the Wuchiapingian stage of the late Permian epoch in what is now Germany (Kupferschiefer) and England (Marl Slate).

Due to anatomical differences with other bobasatraniiforms, such as the presence of pelvic fins and the reduced scale cover, Dorypterus is placed in its own monotypic family, Dorypteridae.

[1] Dorypterus, with its deep body, was likely adapted for a slow-swimming lifestyle akin to modern reef fishes.

It likely inhabited shallow lagoons dominated by large forests of algae, which it fed on with its scissor-like jaws.