Erquitaia is a poorly known genus of prehistoric galeomorph shark

Shark

Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....

 whose fossils are found in rocks dating from the Maastrichtian

Maastrichtian

The Maastrichtian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the latest age or upper stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch or Upper Cretaceous series, the Cretaceous period or system, and of the Mesozoic era or erathem. It spanned from 70.6 ± 0.6 Ma to 65.5 ± 0.3 Ma...

 stage.

Classification

Originally, Erquitaia was thought to be a ray placed in the order Rajiformes

Rajiformes

Rajiformes is one of the four orders of batoids, flattened cartilaginous fishes related to sharks.Rajiforms are distinguished by the presence of greatly enlarged pectoral fins, which reach as far forward as the sides of the head, with a generally flattened body. The undulatory pectoral fin motion...

, however it was subsequently moved to the shark super order Galeomorphii, which includes all modern sharks except the dogfish

Squaliformes

Squaliformes is an order of sharks that includes about 97 species in seven families.Members of the order have two dorsal fins, which usually possess spines, no anal fin or nictitating membrane, and five gill slits. In most other respects, however, they are quite variable in form and size...

 and their relatives.

See also

• Flora and fauna of the Maastrichtian stage
  Flora and fauna of the Maastrichtian stage
  This is an incomplete list that briefly describes vertebrates that were extant during the Maastrichtian, a stage of the Late Cretaceous Period which extended from 70.6 to 65.5 million years before present...
  
  
• List of prehistoric cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes)