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Enormous Kraken-Like Creature May Have Dominated Prehistoric Oceans
Researchers said wear on 27 fossil beaks suggests the octopuses crushed hard prey and may have rivaled mosasaurs as apex predators.
- On Thursday, April 23, 2026, Hokkaido University paleontologists Shin Ikegami and Yasuhiro Iba published a study identifying two giant Cretaceous octopus species, Nanaimoteuthis jeletzkyi and Nanaimoteuthis haggarti, using AI-assisted 'digital fossil mining' to analyze fossilized jaws.
- For roughly 370 million years, marine ecosystems were thought to be dominated by vertebrate predators like sharks and marine reptiles, but this study suggests giant invertebrates also functioned as apex predators in Cretaceous seas.
- Intense wear on the beaks, with up to 10% of jaw length lost, indicates these animals crushed hard structures like shells and bones, while asymmetric jaw wear suggests lateralized behavior linked to advanced intelligence.
- Researchers estimate N. haggarti reached up to 19 meters long, potentially the largest invertebrate in Earth's history, a 'Cretaceous Kraken' that may have rivaled large marine reptiles in size and ecological status.
- Paleontologist Christian Klug describes the 19-meter size estimates as 'quite extreme,' cautioning that without direct evidence like stomach contents, the ancient octopuses' specific ecological role remains uncertain.
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With their fearsome jaws, these octopuses, which could grow up to 20 meters long, were said to have easily crushed the bones of their prey.
·Berlin, Germany
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Today octopuses are no more than 5 meters long, but in the Cretaceous period huge octopuses swam through the seas.
·Zürich, Switzerland
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Total News Sources110
Leaning Left20Leaning Right12Center38Last UpdatedBias Distribution54% Center
Bias Distribution
- 54% of the sources are Center
54% Center
L 29%
C 54%
R 17%
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