Description

Keuppia levante
Other Mollusc
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)
Metoicoceras geslinianum Zone
Hadjoula, Lebanon

Extremely rare 23mm x 33mm true octopus on 72mm slab. Ink sac, jaws and tentacles are clearly visible.

Cephalopod. Soft-bodied. Mollusc.

Keuppia is an extinct genus of octopus known so far from only the Late Cretaceous of Lebanon. It’s also a rather early occurrence in the fossil record and yet it is already quite similar to modern forms. Features such as the suckers, beak, and ink sac have been identified in the some specimens.

The octopus has a long evolutionary history and has been variable in form with a possible ancestor dating back to the Carboniferous. It’s a miracle that any specimens exist as it lacks the shell or guard of other cephalopods but specimens have been collected where other soft-bodied marine animals are preserved.

Some ammonite collectors also look for other odd cephalopods and this one is certainly a killer.