Ancient Fossil Octopus: Keuppia

Published: Oct. 31, 2020, 11:35 p.m.

There are two species of Keuppia, Keuppia hyperbolaris and Keuppia levante, both of which we find as fossils. We find their remains, along with those of the genus Styletoctopus, in Cretaceous-age H\xe2qel and Hjoula localities in Lebanon. For many years, Palaeoctopus newboldi (Woodward, 1896) from the Santonian limestones at S\xe2hel Aalma, Lebanon, was the only known pre\u2010Cenozoic coleoid cephalopod believed to have an unambiguous stem\u2010lineage representative of Octobrachia fioroni.

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With the unearthing of some extraordinary specimens with exquisite soft\u2010part preservation in the Lebanon limestones, our understanding of ancient octopus morphology has blossomed. The specimens are from the sub\u2010lithographical limestones of H\xe2qel and H\xe2djoula, in north\u2010west Lebanon. These localities are about 15 km apart, 45 km away from Beirut and 15 km away from the coastal city of Jbail