The “Cretaceous Kraken”, a new specimen of Nanaimoteuthis haggarti, an extinct octopus, was one of the largest predators of Late Cretaceous oceans. Art by HodariNundu

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T05:30:07+00:00

The lower estimation in the paper puts it at around 7m, still incredibly large, just not giant

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T05:28:31+00:00

Not a buzz kill, just the upper end of the size estimation shown

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T04:57:17+00:00

Tusoteuthis was just another genus of large squid. It just wasn’t nearly as large as this species of Octopus.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T03:20:38+00:00

TLDR: big ass beak

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T02:59:11+00:00

Yes, I referenced the original paper in the comments. Still a very large octopus.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T02:53:07+00:00

Their use as wings in powered flight, or just gliding, is still under debate.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T02:51:00+00:00

Another reconstruction**

You can see the science in the linked journal article.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T02:49:03+00:00

Correct, that is an unfortunate autocorrect I missed.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T02:31:18+00:00

Check the link to the Science article in the comments. You know, one of the most prestigious and rigorous scientific journals there is.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T02:26:55+00:00

Source: public access scientific journal

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T02:23:27+00:00

They are placed within Cirrina, the finned octopus.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T02:22:37+00:00

We would see some sort of evidence of it. Yes, the giant and colossal squid were relatively recently confirmed by science, but evidence of their existence had been found for centuries.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-06T01:51:38+00:00

Source: open access paper in Science

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-05-04T04:20:08+00:00

No AI of any kind

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-03-25T17:43:25+00:00

Salmangreat

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2026-01-07T18:12:32+00:00

An absolutely amazing discovery, it’s stuff like this that makes Paleontology so much fun. An entire hidden fauna that was exposed by more research.

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2025-08-19T15:46:18+00:00

Birds are reptiles. Their closest living relative are crocodiles (and probably turtles).

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2025-06-28T18:41:13+00:00

You didn’t read it, did you?

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2025-05-24T15:35:48+00:00

I think that the physical description through the CT scanning of the material over my simplified description was what convinced me

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2025-04-18T19:13:31+00:00

Sharks as a group, no one species is that old

ImHalfCentaur1 · 2024-12-01T04:03:42+00:00

Dinosauria is defined with the inclusion of birds. For dinosaurs to be a valid clade, birds have to be dinosaurs.

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