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Yezoteuthis

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Extinct genus of squids

Yezoteuthis
Temporal range: Campanian, 77 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Oegopsida
Genus: †Yezoteuthis
Tanabe, Hikida & Iba, 2006
Species: †Y. giganteus
Binomial name
†Yezoteuthis giganteus
Tanabe, Hikida & Iba, 2006

Yezoteuthis ("Yezo squid") is an extinct genus of very large oegopsid squid that inhabited the seas around Japan in the Late Cretaceous period. It contains a single species, Y. giganteus from the early Campanian Osousyunai Formation of the Yezo Group in Hokkaido. It is possibly the largest fossil coleoid ever described.

Yezoteuthis is known from a single upper jaw that shares close similarities with those of oegopsids, hence its assignment to that order. These jaws are very large, and a comparison to modern squid indicates that Yezoteuthis would have rivalled the extant giant squid (Architeuthis) in size, reaching about 1.7 metres (5.6 ft) in mantle length, and more than 5 metres (16 ft) in total length. Yezoteuthis was likely a major predator of its ecosystem and existed at a high trophic level.

A second set of oegopsid jaws closely resembling those of Yezoteuthis was described from the Yezo Group in 2023, but was found to be even larger and have different proportions of those from Yezoteuthis, indicating that it is a different species, with its genus also remaining uncertain. Yezoteuthis also coexisted with the slightly smaller but still very large oegopsid Haboroteuthis , although it is possible that Haboroteuthis may be conspecific with Yezoteuthis.

References

  1. ^ Tanabe, Kazushige; Hikida, Yoshinori; Iba, Yasuhiro (2006). "Two coleoid jaws from the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan". Journal of Paleontology. 80 (1): 138–145. doi:10.1666/0022-3360(2006)080[0138:TCJFTU]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0022-3360.
  2. Carnall, Mark (2017-10-31). "Searching for the Old Ones: Lovecraftian giant cephalopods and the fossil record". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-12-15.
  3. Tanabe, Kazushige; Misaki, Akihiro (2023). "Upper Cretaceous record of non-belemnitid coleoid jaws from Hokkaido, Japan, and its evolutionary implications". Cretaceous Research. 151: 105624. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105624. ISSN 0195-6671.
  4. Mironenko, Aleksandr A. (2023-12-01). "Unusual findings of cephalopod jaws in Mesozoic shallow water sandy facies". Cretaceous Research. 152: 105687. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105687. ISSN 0195-6671.
  5. Tanabe, Kazushige; Misaki, Akihiro; Ubukata, Takao (2014). "Late Cretaceous record of large soft-bodied coleoids based on lower jaw remains from Hokkaido, Japan". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. doi:10.4202/app.00052.2013. ISSN 0567-7920.
Taxon identifiers
Yezoteuthis
Yezoteuthis giganteus
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