Genus † Prototetrapturus nov.

Type species. † Prototetrapturus courcelli (Arambourg, 1927) comb. nov.

Diagnosis. As for the species by monotypy.

Derivation of name. The genus name is a combination of the Greek word ‘ protos ’ meaning ‘first’ and the generic name Tetrapturus, thus meaning ‘the first Tetrapturus ’, referring to its relationship to spearfishes.

Occurrence. Late Miocene (Messinian) of Algeria (6.4–5.8 Ma).