Paraprefica is an extinct genus of potoo (family Nyctibiidae) from the middle Eocene (c. 48 million years ago).

It is the only known member of the extinct subfamily Parapreficinae, erected in 2021 to distinguish Paraprefica from the extant potoos of the genus Nyctibius and Phyllaemulor, which have a slightly different anatomy and are known only from the Americas.

[1]Described for the first time in 1999 by G. Mayr, this bird was at first placed in the genus Prefica, a North American fossil closely related to modern oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis).

[2] It is possible that the similarities between the bones of Prefica and Paraprefica are due to primitive characters found in all Cypselomorphs, the group that also includes the Caprimulgiformes.

[3][2] The existing finds from Germany present a puzzle on the birds' distribution, as modern potoos are found only in the New World, from Mexico to the north of Argentina and the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Hispaniola and Tobago, making them Neotropical.