Occurrence of the Extinct Carpet Shark, Orectoloboides, in the Dakota Formation (Late Cretaceous; Middle Cenomanian) of Kansas

Re-examination of previously reported micro-vertebrate specimens collected from the upper portion of the Dakota Formation (Middle Cenomanian) in Russell County, Kansas, has identified two teeth of the extinct Carpet Shark, Orectoloboides sp. While the teeth of Orectoloboides have been described from Africa and Europe, the only previous report of the genus in North America is from the Cenomanian of Saskatchewan in Canada. The presence of Orectoloboides in Kansas represents a more than 2000 km southward extension of the range of this group into the central portion of the Western Interior Seaway.