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Giant Cretaceous Octopus May Have Measured 62 Feet

4/24/2026

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Story summary
  • A *Science* paper by paleontologist Yasuhiro Iba et al. reports two giant finned Cretaceous octopus species that may have reached up to 62 feet.
  • The team re-examined 15 known fossil jaws and uncovered 12 new ones with digital fossil-mining in Japan.
  • Jaw dimensions suggest *N. haggarti* measured 23–62 feet, potentially the largest known invertebrate.
  • Paleontologists René Hoffman and Christian Klug say the estimates rely on error-prone averages and are uncertain.