''Archaeotriakis'' is an extinct genus of

false catshark The false catshark or sofa shark (''Pseudotriakis microdon'') is a species of ground shark in the family Pseudotriakidae, and the sole member of its genus. It has a worldwide distribution, and has most commonly been recorded close to the bottom ...

from the

Cretaceous period The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of t ...

. Currently, this genus is restricted to the

Campanian stage The Campanian is the fifth of six age (geology), ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stage (stratigraphy ...

of the

Western Interior Seaway The Western Interior Seaway (also called the Cretaceous Seaway, the Niobraran Sea, the North American Inland Sea, and the Western Interior Sea) was a large inland sea that split the continent of North America into two landmasses. The ancient sea ...

of North America. It is known from two species, mainly from isolated teeth. ''A. rochelleae'' was described from the

Judith River Formation The Judith River Formation is a fossil-bearing geologic formation in Montana, and is part of the Judith River Group. It dates to the Late Cretaceous, between 79 and 75.3 million years ago, corresponding to the "Judithian" land vertebrate age. It ...

of Montana, USA. ''A. ornatus'' was originally described from the Teapot Member of the

Mesaverde Group The Mesaverde Group is a Late Cretaceous stratigraphic group found in areas of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, in the Western United States. History The Mesaverde Formation was first described by W.H.Holmes in 1877 during the Hayden ...

of Wyoming, USA. The range of ''A. ornatus'' has since been found in the

Bearpaw formation The Bearpaw Formation, also called the Bearpaw Shale, is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous (Campanian) age. It outcrops in the U.S. state of Montana, as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and was named for the Bear ...

Alberta, Canada Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

References

Pseudotriakidae Extinct animals of North America Prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera {{Paleo-shark-stub