'Gigantic' ancient octopus used jaws to crush prey and hunted alongside the dinosaurs 100M years ago: study

Octopuses’ earliest relatives that lived 100 cardinal years agone whitethorn person been "gigantic" predators that hunted alongside the dinosaurs, according to caller research.

Although scientists antecedently believed that the earliest finned octopuses lived astir 15 cardinal years ago, researchers with Hokkaido University recovered fossilized jaws recovered wrong precocious Cretaceous stone samples, according to a survey published successful the diary "Science" connected Thursday.

Because octopuses are soft-bodied animals, they don’t fossilize good but for the jaw bones, making their evolutionary past hard to trace, the researchers explained successful a quality release.

The researchers utilized high-resolution grinding tomography and an artificial quality exemplary to find the fossils, which were located successful stone samples that had been preserved successful seafloor sediments recovered successful Japan and Vancouver Island from 100 to 72 cardinal years ago.

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Octopuses’ earliest relatives that lived 100 cardinal years agone whitethorn person been "gigantic" predators that hunted alongside the dinosaurs, according to caller research. (Hokkaido University/Mark Wilson/Newsmakers via Getty)

The Late Cretaceous was the last epoch of the Mesozoic Era, which was dominated by the dinosaurs, including tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops.

The fossils belonged to a radical of extinct finned octopuses, known arsenic Cirrata, that researchers believed crushed their prey with almighty jaws.

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"Our findings suggest that the earliest octopuses were gigantic predators that occupied the apical of the marine nutrient concatenation successful the Cretaceous," Professor Yasuhiro Iba of Hokkaido University said successful a statement. "Based connected exceptionally well-preserved fossil jaws, we amusement that these animals reached full lengths of up to astir 20 meters, which whitethorn person surpassed the size of ample marine reptiles of the aforesaid age."

Rendering of however the jaw fossil acceptable into the past octopus' body. (Hokkaido University)

Iba added that the astir astonishing uncovering was the "extent of deterioration connected the jaws," which showed extended chipping, scratching and cracking.

"In well-grown specimens, up to 10% of the jaw extremity comparative to the full jaw magnitude had been worn away, which is larger than that seen successful modern cephalopods that provender connected hard-shelled prey," helium explained. "This indicates repeated, forceful interactions with their prey, revealing an unexpectedly assertive feeding strategy."

Fossil from an past octopus' jaw. (Hokkaido University)

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These findings alteration the mode scientists presumption predators during the Late Cretaceous period, which they antecedently believed was dominated by vertebrate predators, with invertebrates astatine the bottommost of the nutrient chain.

"This survey provides the archetypal nonstop grounds that invertebrates could germinate into giant, intelligent apex predators successful ecosystems that person been dominated by vertebrates for astir 400 cardinal years," Iba added. "Our findings amusement that almighty jaws and the nonaccomplishment of superficial skeletons, communal characteristics of octopuses and marine vertebrates, were indispensable to becoming huge, intelligent marine predators."