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'Oldest octopus' fossil is no octopus at all, scans reveal

  • April 7, 2026 at 11:10 PM
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'Oldest octopus' fossil is no octopus at all, scans reveal
A famous 300-million-year-old fossil that was thought to be the world's oldest octopus—even featuring in the Guinness Book of Records—has turned out to be something else altogether. In what amounts to a case of mistaken identity, the fossil hid its true nature through decay 300 million years ago, before being fossilized.

Originally published at Phys.org

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