Living 183 Million Years Ago, Vampire Squid Fossil Found Still Clutching Prey in Its Arms

"Life 183 Million Years Ago, Vampire Squid Fossil Found Still Clutching Prey in Its Arms"

Living 183 Million Years Ago, Vampire Squid Fossil Found Still Clutching Prey in Its Arms

Dream - The world of paleontology is once again excited by the fascinating discovery made by experts. A new species of vampire squid has been revealed, adding to the list of ancient creatures that have long been extinct.

"Life Around 183 Years Ago"

Known as Simoniteuthis michaelyi, this species is believed to have inhabited the oceans around 183 million years ago. The recent research published in the "Swiss Journal of Palaeontology" describes this fossil as an extraordinary discovery, with a depiction of prey in its arms.

"The discovery is very interesting because the fossil was found frozen with its prey in its arms, thus representing a very rare case of predator-prey interaction,"

According to Ben Thuy, a paleontologist at the National Museum of Natural History in Luxembourg (LNMNH) who is also the author of his latest research, as quoted from Newsweek.com.

Octopus-like

Vampire squid, or known as vampyromorphs, are part of the cephalopoda group, which also includes octopuses, squids, and other related creatures. Although they have a similar physical appearance to squids, vampyromorphs are evolutionarily closer to octopuses because they have eight arms.

This species was discovered during a scientific excavation by LNMNH in Bascharage, southeast Luxembourg in May 2022. This fossil originates from the Early Jurassic period and exhibits highly detailed soft structures, including muscle tissues, ink, and even eyeballs, which are rarely found in previous fossils.

This species may look like a squid at present but with a length of about 15 inches and eight arms. "Since we do not have preserved traces of pigmentation fossils, we can only speculate about the color of the animal when it was alive," he said.

"Found with Prey"

The fossil found proves that Simoniteuthis michaelyi is an active predator, as there are two small fish in its mouth indicating that this squid died while eating its last meal. However, in a marine environment full of large fish and sea reptiles, it is likely that Simoniteuthis michaelyi also becomes prey for other predators.

The translated text while preserving the HTML tags is: "The habitat of this species is believed to be in shallow waters along the coast of an island that is now part of the European mainland."

The extraordinary preservation level of these fossils is explained by the environmental conditions in the water, particularly the lack of oxygen at the seabed due to climate conditions and ocean circulation at that time. "This discovery provides new insights into Jurassic marine life, particularly in terms of predator-prey interactions, and contributes to our knowledge of ancient marine life," added Thuy. Report: Khaira Amaliya

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