‘Kraken-like’ giant octopuses 100m years ago crunched bones of prey

‘I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to go swimming in the ancient oceans if these things were swimming around,’ one scientist said. Illustration: Hokkaido University

Giant “kraken-like” octopuses that used powerful beaks to crunch through bones of prey were among the most formidable predators of the Cretaceous oceans, according to research.

Analysis of dozens of newly identified fossils reveals that some ancient octopus species reached up to 19 metres in length, meaning they would have rivalled – and possibly even preyed upon – apex predators such as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs.