Life restoration of Keuppia levante.
The 2009 extinct fossil octopus discoveries refers to the discovery of three newly identified species of extinct octopoda that were discovered in 2009. It is only the second time that a fossil of an extinct species of octopus has been found. The previous discovery was Palaeoctopus newboldi.[1]
The three species discovered in this new find are Keuppia hyperbolaris, Keuppia levante, and Styletoctopus annae. Even though these species lived 95 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, they bore a very strong resemblance to modern octopuses, suggesting that the Octopoda order has remained relatively unchanged for tens of millions of years. The fossils included evidence of arms, muscles, rows of suckers, ink, and internal gills. The discovery was made by a team led by Dirk Fuchs of the Freie University, which is located at Berlin, Germany.[2] The fossils were found at Hakel and Hadjoula, Lebanon.[1]
Octopus fossils are rare because very soon after an octopus dies, it rapidly decays and liquefies. In just a few days, it will be gone, even if there are no scavengers. In order to have fossilized, these octopuses had to be on an area of the sea floor where there was rapid sedimentation and no oxygen.[2]
References[]
- ^ a b New Octopus from the late Cretaceous of Hakel and Hadjoula, Lebanon, Palaeontology, Volume 52, Issue 1, Pages 65-81
- ^ a b Rare fossil octopuses found, MSNBC, March 18, 2009