SouthernWorldwide.com – Ancient octopuses from 100 million years ago were likely “gigantic” predators that coexisted with dinosaurs, according to recent research.
While previously it was thought that the earliest octopuses appeared around 15 million years ago, researchers from Hokkaido University discovered fossilized jaws in Late Cretaceous rock samples. This finding was detailed in a study published in the journal Science.
Octopuses, being soft-bodied creatures, rarely fossilize except for their jaw bones. This characteristic makes tracing their evolutionary history a challenging task for scientists.
To identify these fossils, the researchers utilized high-resolution grinding tomography and an artificial intelligence model. The fossils were found in rock samples from Japan and Vancouver Island, preserved in seafloor sediments dating back 100 to 72 million years.
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The Late Cretaceous period marked the final epoch of the Mesozoic Era, an age famously dominated by dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops.
These newly discovered fossils belong to an extinct group of octopuses known as Cirrata. Researchers believe these ancient cephalopods possessed powerful jaws capable of crushing their prey.
“Our findings suggest that the earliest octopuses were gigantic predators that occupied the top of the marine food chain in the Cretaceous,” stated Professor Yasuhiro Iba of Hokkaido University.
He further elaborated that based on the remarkably well-preserved fossil jaws, these creatures could have reached total lengths of nearly 20 meters. This size may have even surpassed that of large marine reptiles living during the same era.
Professor Iba highlighted that the most astonishing discovery was the significant wear observed on the jaws. This wear manifested as extensive chipping, scratching, and cracking.
“In well-grown specimens, up to 10% of the jaw tip relative to the total jaw length had been worn away, which is larger than that seen in modern cephalopods that feed on hard-shelled prey,” he explained. This indicates repeated, forceful interactions with their prey, revealing an unexpectedly aggressive feeding strategy.
These findings are reshaping the scientific understanding of predators during the Late Cretaceous. Previously, the period was thought to be primarily ruled by vertebrate predators, with invertebrates occupying lower positions in the food chain.
“This study provides the first direct evidence that invertebrates could evolve into giant, intelligent apex predators in ecosystems that have been dominated by vertebrates for about 400 million years,” Professor Iba added.
He concluded by stating, “Our findings show that powerful jaws and the loss of superficial skeletons, common characteristics of octopuses and marine vertebrates, were essential to becoming huge, intelligent marine predators.”
