Rare octopus fossils

It is not surprising to find fossils of hard-bone species. But, the fossil of the invertebrate octopus is really rare. Scientists say they have discovered the fossil of a 95 million-year-old octopus.

The octopus's body is almost like muscle and skin. When it dies, it quickly decomposes into viscous mucus, after a few days almost nothing left, even before it was cleanly eaten by scavengers. Therefore, octopus fossils are almost impossible.

However, Dirk Fuchs at Freie University Berlin and his colleagues screened about 200-300 known octopus species and from the remaining traces of fossils, he has identified three species that had not previously been Known as Styletoctopus annae, Keuppia hyperbolaris and Keuppia levante through 5 samples from the Cretaceous.

The corpse of the octopus under the sea is not impaired because it lacks oxygen, thus avoiding decomposition and the animals that eat corpses cannot survive in this environment. It is the lack of oxygen and the sedimentary rock environment here that prevents decomposition.

Previously, only a fossil record of octopus was discovered. This 95 million-year-old fossil specimen is very similar to the living octopuses today.