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KEUPPIA
(ke-up-pe-ah)
Keuppia
Named By: Dirk Fuchs, Giacomo Bracchi, Robert Weis in 2009
Time Period: 97-93 Ma Late Cenomanian
Location: Lebanon
Size: Unavailable
Diet: Carnivore
Fossil(s): Two specimens preserved flat upon slabs
Classification: | Mollusca | Cephalopoda | Octopoda | Palaeoctopodidae |
About

Keuppia is an extinct genus of octopus. It consists of two species, Keuppia hyperbolaris and Keuppia levante, both of which lived approximately 95 million years ago. Both species were found in fossilized form, which is very uncommon for extinct octopuses, as the soft tissue of dead octopuses almost always disintegrates before it has a chance to fossilize. These fossils, along with those of the genus Styletoctopus, were found from the Cretaceous-age Haqel and Hadjoula localities in Lebanon. The presence of a gladius vestige in this genus shows a transition from squid to octopus in which the inner shell has divided in two in early forms to eventually be reduced to lateralized stylets, as can be seen in Styletoctopus.

Read more about Keuppia at Wikipedia
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