Keuppia is an extinct genus of octopus.

Quick Facts Scientific classification, Species ...
Keuppia
Temporal range: 97–93 Ma
Late Cenomanian
Thumb
K. levante
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Octopoda
Family: Palaeoctopodidae
Genus: Keuppia
Fuchs, Bracchi & Weis, 2009
Species
  • K. hyperbolaris Fuchs, Bracchi & Weis, 2009
  • K. levante Fuchs, Bracchi & Weis, 2009
Close

Taxonomy

It consists of two species, Keuppia hyperbolaris and Keuppia levante, both of which lived approximately 95 million years ago.[1] Both species were found in fossilized form, which is very uncommon for extinct octopuses, as the soft tissue of dead octopuses almost always disintegrates before it has a chance to fossilize.[2] These fossils, along with those of the genus Styletoctopus, were found from the Cretaceous-age Hâqel and Hjoula localities in Lebanon. The presence of a gladius vestige in this genus shows a transition from squid to octopus in which the inner shell has divided in two in early forms to eventually be reduced to lateralized stylets, as can be seen in Styletoctopus.

See also

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.