#cretaceous

All articles tagged with "cretaceous"

Fossil Beaks Suggest Giant Cretaceous Octopuses Were Among the Ocean’s Top Predators

Researchers studying fossilized octopus jaws say one Cretaceous species may have reached nearly 19 meters in total length, placing it among the largest and most formidable invertebrate predators known.

Key Takeaways

Researchers studied 27 fossil octopus jaws dating from 100 million to 72 million years ago.
One species, Nanaimoteuthis haggarti, may have reached 6.6 to 18.6 meters in total length.

DT Editorial Team·Apr 24, 2026·via newscientist.com

How Shell-Cracking Turtles Outlived the Dinosaurs

A new study finds that turtles specializing in hard-shelled prey were more than five times more likely to survive the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

Key Takeaways

Turtles that ate hard-shelled mollusks were over 5x more likely to survive the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact
Clams and snails proved resilient to the impact winter that devastated plant-based food chains

DT Editorial Team·Mar 26, 2026·via phys.org