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Ancient Kraken-Like Beasts Ruled Oceans
26 Apr
Summary
- Giant octopus-like creatures up to 19 metres long lived 100 million years ago.
- Fossilised beaks reveal they crushed bones and rivalled mosasaurs.
- These intelligent invertebrates dominated marine food webs.
Gigantic octopus-like creatures, some reaching up to 19 metres in length, patrolled the oceans 100 million years ago as apex predators. Fossilised beaks discovered through digital mining techniques show these intelligent invertebrates were capable of crushing bones and competed with large marine reptiles like mosasaurs.
Researchers examined 27 fossilised beaks from the genus Nanaimoteuthis, finding evidence of heavy wear from a diet including hard-shelled animals and possibly marine reptile bones. This suggests they were formidable hunters, much like their modern, smaller relatives.
The discovery challenges the long-held view that ancient seas were exclusively dominated by vertebrate giants. It appears these soft-bodied cephalopods played a central role in shaping marine food webs through their intelligence and predatory prowess.
Questions linger about why these giants disappeared from the fossil record. Changing ocean conditions or competition might offer clues, but their evolutionary descendants likely evolved into today's smaller species. This find significantly blurs the line between ancient sailor myths and scientific reality.
