Fossils Sealed For 30 Years Revealed To Be Ancestors Of Octopuses

When American paleontologists rummaged through the museum for information, they accidentally found a fossil specimen that had been in dust for 30 years. Upon closer inspection, they found that it was an unprecedented ancient ancestor of octopus. It is a creature in the tropical waters of North America 328 million years ago, and is the earliest known common ancestor of octopuses and vampire squid, pushing the evolution of vampire squid back 82 million years.

Has 10 tentacles

This prehistoric octopus, found in Bell Canyon, Montana, has an inner shell that, in addition to its squid-like appearance, also has 10 tentacles with suction cups like modern squid, which is completely different from the eight tentacles of modern octopuses. Two of the tentacles are particularly long and are believed to be used for hunting.

One of the scholars who discovered it, Dr Christopher Whalen of the American Museum of Natural History, said the soft tissue of the fossil was so rare that every sucker on the tentacles could be seen. Its long, triangular hard shell evolved into a pair of small rods that support the fins in modern octopuses. The research was published Wednesday in the journal Nature Communications.