Octopuses were around before dinosaurs, fossil find suggests [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Oldest known ancestor of octopuses unearthed in Montana in form of approximately 330m-year-old fossil

Associated Press in Washington
Tue 8 Mar 2022 15.38 EST

Scientists have found the oldest known ancestor of octopuses – an approximately 330m-year-old fossil unearthed in Montana.

The researchers concluded the ancient creature lived millions of years earlier than previously believed, meaning that octopuses originated before the era of dinosaurs.

The 4.7-inch (12-cm) fossil has 10 limbs – modern octopuses have eight – each with two rows of suckers. It probably lived in a shallow, tropical ocean bay.

“It’s very rare to find soft tissue fossils, except in a few places,” said Mike Vecchione, a Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History zoologist who was not involved in the study. “This is a very exciting finding. It pushes back the ancestry much farther than previously known.”

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/08/octopuses-were-around-before-dinosaurs-fossil-find-suggests