Massive Intelligent Octopuses Once Stalked the Primordial Oceans
Ancient sailors may have feared the enormous tentacled leviathans rising from the depths to capsize their ships. New research suggests they were only about 100 million years apart. A study published today in Science suggests that colossal octopuses once roamed the primordial seas.
During the late Cretaceous, predatory vertebrates like mosasaurs were thought to dominate marine ecosystems, preying on smaller shelled invertebrates. But this latest study indicates that’s not entirely true. Huge octopuses measuring more than 60 feet long were able to join their distant vertebrate cousins at the top of the food chain, in part by adopting similar evolutionary innovations. Marine reptiles and gargantuan octopuses both evolved strong jaws, large bodies, and more streamlined swimming profiles during this period.
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An international team of researchers came to this conclusion after examining 27 fossilized jaws from ancient octopus relatives. An analysis of wear and tear on these massive beaks revealed that they were used to gnaw on hard shells and bones with powerful biting force. In fact, they might even have been able to prey on other large predators like the mosasaurs they were competing with.
Researchers say the wear patterns also speak to the intelligence of these giants. Many beaks showed asymmetrical decay, indicating that the octopuses preferred one side during their feeding frenzy. Similar to the hand in humans, this behavior also suggests lateralization of neural structures, a key indicator of advanced cognition also present in octopus species living today.
Although ancient mariners may have been afraid of giant tentacled sea monsters, they probably never imagined that these monsters could also be intelligent.
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Main image: Yohei Utsuki: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hokkaido University
