Ancient Kraken: 62-Foot Giant Octopuses Roamed the Cretaceous Seas
TL;DR
Fossilized beaks from two giant Cretaceous octopuses suggest they grew up to 62 feet long and hunted in oceans about 100 million years ago, potentially rivalling apex predators like mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. Jaws show wear indicating they could dismantle hard-shelled prey, and signs of lateralized behavior imply brainier hunting patterns similar to modern octopuses, marking them as prehistoric top predators, though size estimates carry uncertainties.
- Not just folklore: A giant kraken-like octopus terrorized the seas in the age of dinosaurs Yahoo
- Jaw fossils suggest a 60-foot octopus was the ‘kraken’ of the Cretaceous National Geographic
- Scientists just discovered a 60-foot-long, kraken-like octopus The Washington Post
- Paleontologists Discover 62-foot Kraken-like Octopus That Ruled the Cretaceous Ocean ZME Science
- This Bone-Crunching Octopus Was Nearly the Size of a Semitruck and May Have Feasted on Giant Reptiles 100 Million Years Ago Smithsonian Magazine
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