Archaeus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of fishes}}{{Distinguish|Archeus|Archaea|Arceus}}{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Early Eocene to Early Oligocene, {{fossil range|56.0|28.1}}

| image = Archaeus_species.JPG

| image_caption = A. glarisianus & "A. brevis"

| taxon = Archaeus

| authority = Agassiz, 1844

| type_species = Archaeus glarisianus
Agassiz 1844

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = See text

| synonyms = * Archaeoides
Rath 1859

}}

Archaeus (Greek for "ancient one") is an extinct genus of marine jackfish from the Paleogene of Europe, where it inhabited the former Tethys Ocean. The oldest species, A. oblongus is from the early Ypresian epoch of Eocene Turkmenistan, and the last species, A. glarisianus and A. solus, are from the early to middle Rupelian, of the Matt Formation of Canton Glarus, Switzerland and the Pshekha Formation of North Caucasus, Russia.{{Cite web |title=PBDB |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=35949 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=paleobiodb.org}}{{Cite journal |last=Bannikov |first=A. F. |last2=Erebakan |first2=I. G. |date=2023-04-01 |title=A New Species of Horse Mackerel Fish of the Genus Archaeus (Carangidae, Percomorpha) from the Lower Oligocene of the North Caucasus |url=https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030123020041 |journal=Paleontological Journal |language=en |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=199–205 |doi=10.1134/S0031030123020041 |issn=1555-6174|url-access=subscription }}

In life, Archaeus species would have resembled a small trevally, though, Archaeus had a proportionally smaller mouth, and larger eyes, and the tail was more fan-shaped, rather than crescent-shaped.

File:Archaeoides.JPG

The following species are known:

• A. glarisianus Agassiz, 1844 (Early Oligocene of Switzerland and Germany)
• A. oblongus Daniltshenko, 1968 (Early Eocene of Danata Formation, Turkmenistan)
• A. solus Bannikov & Erebakan, 2023 (Early Oligocene of North Caucasus, Russia)

The former species A. brevis is no longer considered valid. A specimen of A. glarisianus from the Oligocene of Abkhazia is now thought to represent an extinct species of Caranx, C. daniltshenkoi. File:Archaeus oblongus.jpg