Archaeolamna fossil map
Where fossils of Archaeolamna have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 75 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 75 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Ancient fish & sharks |
|---|---|
| Lived | 113.2–66 million years ago (Albian to Maastrichtian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Archaeolamnidae |
| Named by | Siverson 1992 |
| Fossil records | 125 occurrences at 103 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, France, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Russia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Germany … |
| Rock formations | txn:250820, Mesaverde, Burim, Navesink, Greenhorn Limestone, Judith River |
About Archaeolamna
Archaeolamna (from Greek arche which turned into archaeo and Lamna, an extinct shark genus) is an extinct genus of mackerel sharks that lived during the Cretaceous. It contains three valid species (one with two subspecies) which have been found in Europe, North America, and Australia. While it is mostly known from isolated teeth, an associated set of teeth, jaws, cranial fragments, and vertebrae of A. kopingensis is known from the Pierre Shale of Kansas. Teeth of A. k. judithensis were found with a plesiosaur skeleton with bite marks from the Judith River Formation of Montana. It was a medium-sized shark with an estimated total body length of 3–4 metres (9.8–13.1 ft).
Archaeolamna likely had an antitropical distribution, being found in the temperate waters of both hemispheres but absent from the tropical waters around the equator, much like the modern porbeagle shark. A similar distribution has been found for the related Cardabiodon.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Archaeolamna (revision 1314022647), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q104851587.
