''Tusoteuthis'' (meaning "crushed squid") is an extinct genus of large enchoteuthine

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...

that lived during the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

. Although often called a

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...

, it is now thought to be more closely related to modern

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

es. Examination of

gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense it refers to the sword of ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called '' xiphe'' (plural; singular ''xi ...

remains has yielded an estimated

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

length close to or equal to that of the modern

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at around Trace ...

. Fossil remains have been found in parts of the one-time Western Interior Seaway of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, including Late Cretaceous rocks in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

, and

Manitoba Province , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

. One species, ''T. longa'', is traditionally recognized. In 2019, due to poor preservation of holotype specimen, genus ''Tusoteuthis'' is likely to be invalid, and it is considered that later described species are better to include in genus '' Enchoteuthis'' instead.

Etymology

American paleontologist William N. Logan did not directly explain the etymology of ''Tusoteuthis'' when he named it in 1898. The generic name may be formed from Latin ''tusus'' "crushed" (passive participle of Latin ''tundo'' "beat, crush") + Greek ''teuthis'' "squid", alluding to the typically fragmented condition of the fossil gladius. The gender of the type species name was later corrected to the Latin feminine ''longa''.

Ecology

''Tusoteuthis'' is assumed to have preyed on other cephalopods, fish, and possibly even small marine reptiles. ''Tusoteuthis'' was also preyed on by other animals, especially the many, various predatory fish of the Western Interior Seaway. A fossil of the predatory aulopiform, ''

Cimolichthys ''Cimolichthys'' is an extinct genus of 1.5- to 2.0-meter-long nektonic predatory aulopiformid fish. Description Although the closest living relatives of ''Cimolichthys'' are lancetfish and lizardfish, the living animals would have resembled ...

nepaholica'', was found with the gladius of ''T. longa'' in its gullet. The back portion of the gladius was in the stomach region, while the mouth of ''C. nepaholica'' had remained opened, suggesting that the fish had died in the middle of swallowing the cephalopod, tail first. Researchers strongly suspect that as the fish was swallowing ''Tusoteuthis'', the head and/or tentacles remained outside the mouth, thus blocking the gills of the fish, and suffocating it as it swallowed its prey.

References

External links

Image of fossil ''Cimolichthys'' with swallowed ''T. longa'' gladius
at Oceans of Kansas Paleontology website

at National Geographic website {{Taxonbar, from=Q629627 Prehistoric cephalopod genera Octopuses Coniacian genus first appearances Campanian genus extinctions Cretaceous cephalopods of North America Fossil taxa described in 1898

Etymology

Ecology

See also

References

External links