Overview
- The Science paper published Thursday analyzes 27 octopus beaks from Late Cretaceous rocks in Japan and western Canada and assigns them to Nanaimoteuthis jeletzkyi and N. haggarti.
- Using modern beak‑to‑body ratios, the authors estimate N. haggarti at roughly 6.6 to 18.6 meters in total length, which would exceed today’s giant squids and other known invertebrates.
- Scratches, chips, and rounded edges on the chitinous beaks indicate repeated crushing of hard prey such as shells and bones, and heavier wear on the right side hints at a behavioral side‑preference.
- The team recovered 12 of the beaks with a digital search method that scans rock surfaces and uses AI to flag fossils, a technique that could reveal more remains of soft‑bodied animals.
- Outside paleontologists welcome the fossils but question the size scaling and apex‑predator claim, noting jaw size may reflect diet rather than body length and suggesting alternatives like slower swimming or scavenging.