Nanaimoteuthis haggarti Reaches 19 Meters in New Estimate, Becoming Largest Known Invertebrate
Updated
Updated · BBC Discover Wildlife · May 10
Nanaimoteuthis haggarti Reaches 19 Meters in New Estimate, Becoming Largest Known Invertebrate
1 articles · Updated · BBC Discover Wildlife · May 10
A new study re-estimated the extinct octopus Nanaimoteuthis haggarti at 7-19 meters long, putting even the low end near colossal squid size and the high end above the 17-meter Mosasaurus hoffmani.
More than a dozen fossil jaws from Vancouver Island and Hokkaido, including one exceptionally well-preserved specimen, led researchers to reclassify the animal as an octopus rather than a vampire squid and recalculate body size from jaw proportions.
The fossils date to about 84 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous, making N. haggarti not only the largest known octopus but also the largest non-colonial invertebrate yet identified.
Researchers place the deep-sea cirrate octopus in the North Pacific and infer a diet heavy in hard-shelled prey such as ammonites from wear patterns and scratches on its jaws.
The estimate remains disputed: some scientists say body size inferred from cephalopod jaws is highly species-dependent and that the 7-19 meter range may be overstated.
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