In the Late Cretaceous seas, a 19-meter giant octopus was at the top of the food chain; AI analysis of fossils overturns conventional wisdom

A Hokkaido University-led team used AI to analyze 27 Late Cretaceous jaw fossils.

The study suggests octopus-like cephalopods may have grown 7 to 19 meters long and hunted as large carnivores.

That would make a giant octopus a possible apex predator in ancient seas, alongside mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and sharks.

The finding could significantly revise ideas about marine food chains and ancient life.