'Kraken' octopus that lived at the time of the dinosaurs was a 62-foot-long apex predator of the ocean

The findings push back the oldest known octopuses by around 5 million years. (Image credit: Yohei Utsuki: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hokkaido University)

Scientists have identified enormous finned "kraken" octopuses that may have reached up to 62 feet (19 meters) long. The behemoths prowled the oceans during the Cretaceous and could be the largest invertebrates ever discovered.

Fossil jaws revealed distinctive markings that suggest these kraken-like octopuses used their powerful jaws to crush hard-shelled prey. That, combined with their gigantic size and evidence of intelligence, put them top of the marine food chain, according to a study published Thursday (April 23) in the journal Science.