Potanichthys is a fossil genus of thoracopterid fish found in deposits from China dating to the Ladinian age of the Middle Triassic epoch.

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).

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.