{"id":371952,"date":"2026-04-09T22:19:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T22:19:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/371952\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T22:19:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T22:19:09","slug":"the-oldest-octopus-in-the-world-isnt-an-octopus-after-all-scientists-find-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/371952\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018oldest octopus\u2019 in the world isn\u2019t an octopus after all, scientists find"},"content":{"rendered":"

The story of a 300-million-year-old fossil<\/a> has been rewritten after scientists discovered that it doesn\u2019t actually belong to the world\u2019s oldest octopus<\/a> as previously thought.<\/p>\n

In fact, it belongs to an animal related to a modern nautilus, which has tentacles and an external shell, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe basically used a wide selection of new analytical techniques to discover hidden anatomical characteristics within the rock,\u201d lead study author Thomas Clements, a lecturer in invertebrate zoology at the University of Reading, England, told CNN on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we were able to determine that it is not an octopus, but is actually a very decomposed nautiloid, which is a relative of modern nautiluses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fossil, named Pohlsepia mazonensis, was found at the Mazon Creek site just south of Chicago, Illinois.<\/p>\n

Paleontologists had long been puzzled by the fossil as it is far older than the next oldest known octopus, which dates back about 90 million years.<\/p>\n

Clements explained that the animal had been decomposing for weeks before it was buried, giving its fossil an octopus-like appearance that led many scientists to conclude that octopuses had lived far earlier than previously thought.<\/p>\n

\"Pohlsepia<\/p>\n

Pohlsepia mazonensis was found just south of Chicago, Illinois. – University of Reading<\/p>\n

However, others questioned whether this was in fact the case, as certain features such as the length and shape of its arms didn\u2019t match what would be expected, said Clements.<\/p>\n

Mistaken identity<\/p>\n

As a result, he decided to reexamine the fossil using new scientific techniques that weren\u2019t available when the first analysis of it was published in 2000.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used a huge selection of new techniques,\u201d he said, including using a scanning electron microscrope and carrying out geochemistry work.<\/p>\n

But still the fossil refused to reveal its true identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t getting anywhere,\u201d said Clements. \u201cI was quite frustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things changed when a colleague invited him to scan the fossil using synchrotron imaging, a technique described by the University of Reading as using beams of light brighter than the sun. This technique \u201cgenerates the world\u2019s most powerful X-rays,\u201d Clements explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt revealed anatomical characters that were hidden just below the surface of the rock, so you can\u2019t visually see it when you\u2019re looking at the fossil,\u201d said Clements.<\/p>\n

The team had found a radula, a feeding structure with rows of teeth. There were at least 11 per row in the fossil, whereas octopuses only have seven or nine, according to a statement from the University of Reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was these tiny teeth that we found that allowed us to identify that it wasn\u2019t an octopus,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Clements said that the research demonstrates the power of new technologies to advance our scientific understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only are they becoming more readily available but they\u2019re becoming more affordable, and that\u2019s revolutionizing paleontological investigations,\u201d he said, highlighting the use of synchotrons to discover ancient proteins and biomolecules, and engineering techniques originally designed to test building materials to work out the strength of a dinosaur bite.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people think of paleontology as a very dusty science,\u201d said Clements. \u201cBut actually, we\u2019re an incredibly innovative science.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The story of a 300-million-year-old fossil has been rewritten after scientists discovered that it doesn\u2019t actually belong to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371953,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[194404,111,139,69,19234,147,194403,194402],"class_list":{"0":"post-371952","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-analytical-techniques","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-octopus","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-thomas-clements","15":"tag-university-of-reading"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}