Fossil Find Suggests , Octopuses Were Around , Before the Dinosaurs.
Scientists in Montana have discovered
a 330 million-year-old fossil
of the oldest-known ancestor of octopuses. .
'The Guardian' reports that researchers
believe the creature lived millions of years
earlier than previously believed. .
The discovery would mean that octopuses
were around before dinosaurs. .
The fossil measures 4.7 inches and has
ten limbs, as opposed to modern
octopuses, which now have eight limbs. .
Researchers believe the creature likely
lived in a shallow, tropical ocean bay. .
It’s very rare to find soft tissue fossils,
except in a few places. This is a very
exciting finding. It pushes back
the ancestry much farther
than previously known, Mike Vecchione, a Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History zoologist, via 'The Guardian'.
It’s very rare to find soft tissue fossils,
except in a few places. This is a very
exciting finding. It pushes back
the ancestry much farther
than previously known, Mike Vecchione, a Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History zoologist, via 'The Guardian'.
According to 'The Guardian,' the fossil
was discovered in Montana's
Bear Gulch limestone formation. .
It was donated to the Royal Ontario Museum in 1988. .
There, it remained overlooked for decades
until paleontologists took note of the specimen's
unique ten limbs encased in limestone. .
The creature is classified as a vampyropod,
which are the ancestors of both
modern octopuses and vampire squid. .
Researchers note that the next oldest
definitive vampyropod was dated
to around 240 million years ago.