19-Metre Octopuses Crushed Prey in Cretaceous Seas
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Nanaimoteuthis haggarti, an ancient octopus relative, was estimated at 7–19 metres in total length based on fossil beak analysis — potentially the largest invertebrate on record, with a beak exceeding that of the modern giant squid.
- The research team re-examined 15 fossil beaks previously misidentified as vampire squids and used digital imaging to uncover 12 additional octopus beaks hidden in Cretaceous rocks dating back 72–100 million years.
- Distinct wear patterns on the fossilized beaks — blunted edges, chips, and scratches — indicate these predators routinely crushed hard bones and shells, and may have preyed on giant marine reptiles comparable in size to themselves.
- The beaks showed lateralized wear, with more damage on one side than the other, suggesting arm preferences or "handedness" for specific tasks — a behavioral sophistication shared with modern octopuses.
- Dr. Yasuhiro Iba of Hokkaido University, the study's lead author, said the findings "change the view that Cretaceous seas were dominated only by large vertebrate predators," positioning these octopuses at the very top of the food web.
- Dr. Thomas Clements, a palaeobiologist at the University of Reading not involved in the study, called it "quite nice to imagine an octopus eating a large vertebrate for once," inverting the usual artistic depiction of cephalopods as prey.
Why it matters: The study, based on 27 analyzed fossil beaks spanning 72–100 million years, repositions giant cephalopods — not just large vertebrates — as apex predators in the Cretaceous food web. The bone-crushing wear patterns and estimated 7–19 metre body length of Nanaimoteuthis haggarti mean these octopuses could have preyed upon mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, fundamentally redrawing the hierarchy of ancient marine ecosystems.
