"The analysis grouped the krakens into two species: Nanaimoteuthis jeletzkyi and N. haggarti, and discovered that they belong to the same evolutionary group as modern dumbo octopuses."
"Their study, published on 23 April in Science, challenges the idea that giant marine reptiles such as mosasaurs and other vertebrates exclusively dominated marine ecosystems in the Cretaceous period."
"To plug such gaps, Iba, together with Hokkaido palaeontologist Shin Ikegami and their colleagues, reanalysed 15 large fossil octopus jaws."
"The researchers estimate that the krakens' mantles would have been between 67 and 443 centimetres long, indicating their potential size."
Fossilized jaws of extinct octopuses, referred to as krakens, suggest they could have reached lengths of nearly 19 meters. This finding challenges the belief that giant marine reptiles were the sole top predators in the Cretaceous seas. Researchers reanalyzed 15 large fossil jaws and identified 12 new kraken fossils, classifying them into two species. The study indicates that these ancient octopuses shared an evolutionary lineage with modern dumbo octopuses, revealing their potential size and ecological role.
Read at Nature
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