New discovery suggests existence of 60-foot, kraken-like octopus
Yahoo • • science
Key Points:
- A study published in Science suggests that 60-foot-long octopuses were apex predators in the seas between 72 and 100 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period, potentially preying on sharks and mosasaurs.
- Researchers based their findings on 15 fossilized octopus beaks made of chitin, using AI to identify additional fossilized jaws, which helped estimate the size of these ancient creatures.
- The study challenges the traditional view of a vertebrate-dominated marine ecosystem in that era, proposing that giant octopuses played a significant predatory role.
- Some paleontologists remain skeptical of the 60-foot size estimate, citing the limited fossil evidence and cautioning that more data is needed to confirm these findings.
- The research opens questions about other possible large marine predators from the Cretaceous deep oceans that have yet to be discovered.
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