Yezoteuthis: a new giant squid fossil from Japan

[Architeuthoceras]

Jaw (beak?) of Yezoteuthis, Gladius of Tusoteuthis, could they be the same? Every TONMOite should go to the nearest Cretaceous outcrop and find the gladius from Yezoteuthis and the jaw from Tusoteuthis, no matter how long it takes

Great stuff Phil

 

[cuttlegirl]

Ohhhh, I want a giant fossil squid beak!

 

[OB]

Ooooh, this morning I felt like a giant fossil squid beak... Damn those martini's! It wouldn't be the first time that different fossil finds, placed in different species, turned out with hindsight to be one and the same, ask apatosaurus, anomalocaris, even T-rex. Have any beaks from Tusoteuthis been described so far? You'd expect some gladii to at least have been preserved in association, right?

On a secondary note, what about the strata in which both species have been described themselves, how many million years between them?

 

[Yog-Sothoth]

Can you imagine the rarity of a fossilized squid beck. What an interesting and exciting find. Remind me to post a picture of a strange Amonite fossil I found last year, I have'nt been able to id it yet.

 

[Phil]

Ob, I also wondered if Tusoteuthis and Yezoteuthis might be the same animal. Tusoteuthis dates from the Niobrara Chalk, about 85-79 mya, but the article on Yezoteuthis does not give such a precise date but states it was Campanian, ie 83-71 mya, so they could well have been contemporary. I tried searching on 'Yezo mudstones' to get a more precise date, but to no avail. Even if they were not exactly contemporary, it would not preclude that they were not the same genus, Trachyteuthis is known from Jurassic Solnhofen through to the Cretaceous Lebanon deposits, maybe this animal also enjoyed longevity?

I don't think any beaks of Tusoteuthis have been found as all specimens have been of the gladius, so far. Does anyone know what sort of depth mudstones are deposited at? I'd guess that they were from shallow waters as ammonites are commonly found contained within, and Tusoteuthis is also thought to have been a shallow water animal given the depth of the Niobrara Sea at the time.

More specimens please.

Remind me to post a picture of a strange Amonite fossil I found last year, I have'nt been able to id it yet.

Go for it, hopefully we might be able to help. Welcome to TONMO too, Yog-Sothoth!

 

[Snafflehound]

It wouldn't be the first time that different fossil finds, placed in different species, turned out with hindsight to be one and the same, ask apatosaurus, anomalocaris, even T-rex.

I predict that soon, it will be revealed that in fact, apatosaurus, anomalocaris, and T-Rex fossils all in fact do belong to the same animal, a prehistoric squid

 

[OB]

Dang Snafflehound, my "grand unified species theory" paper's still under review, don't you go blow the whistle like that!

 

[cuttlegirl]

Originally posted by Snafflehound
I predict that soon, it will be revealed that in fact, apatosaurus, anomalocaris, and T-Rex fossils all in fact do belong to the same animal, a prehistoric squid

Ancient squid had bones???

 

[Snafflehound]

Well, so did Piltdown Man and look where it got him.

 

[Phil]

And here it is, the beak of Yezoteuthis.

The image was obtained from this page. Automatic translation was too poor to be worth including here I'm afraid.