Meet the 19-meter Cretaceous kraken that swam with mosasaurs

Researchers have discovered that ancient oceans, once thought to be dominated by vertebrate predators like mosasaurs and sharks, also hosted giant octopuses as top predators. These octopuses, which lived around 80 million years ago, could grow up to 19 meters long and had powerful beaks. Unlike vertebrates, octopuses rarely fossilize because their soft bodies decay quickly, leaving only their beaks behind. To find these elusive fossils, scientists used a technique called Digital Fossil Mining, which involves grinding away rock layers and using AI to detect and digitally reconstruct the fossils. This discovery challenges previous beliefs about ancient marine ecosystems and highlights the role of invertebrates as apex predators. QUESTION: How might the discovery of giant octopuses as ancient predators change our understanding of marine life today?