
New analysis of fossil material provides evidence that enormous kraken-like cephalopods—relatives of modern octopuses—roamed late Cretaceous seas about 100 million years ago and competed with large marine predators. The fossils indicate powerful arms, a crushing beak, and a relatively large brain, implying these animals could have been active, dominant hunters. The recent identification of a 43-foot mosasaur dubbed Tylosaurus rex reinforces the picture of late Cretaceous oceans as home to multiple large apex predators that likely interacted and competed in complex food webs.
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