[Article]: Tusoteuthis and the Cretaceous Giant Squids

That is a nice big squid, and I hate to change the topic of this thread, but, that ammonite has punctures from the teeth of a mososaur. The question is, how come it didnt crush the shell? The septa probably prevented overall crushing of the shell, did the mososaur know just how much pressure to apply? Why not just crush the shell and eat the ammonite? Why just puncture the shell?

:?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:
 
Kevin, that's a pair of "eagle eyes" you've got there :shock:

could not the Mosasaur, as a marine reptile, not benefit of the same ability to control bite pressure in the same way as our crocodilian friends still do today with amazing precision :?:
Maybe it was just a wee lovebite to get the ammonite to abandon ship as a boiled egg with bits of shell in is :yuck:
Which raises another question for you spurts, could ammonites ditch the shell in an emergency (pun) :?:
 
All photos restored except the 'Unhelpful Image', which I can't find. Still, not to worry, it wasn't very helpful anyway.
 
Mike Everhart's book 'The Oceans of Kansas' is now published. I have not seen it so I'm not sure if it contains any further details on Tusoteuthis or the other Western Interior Seaway shelled cephalopods or not. No matter, I expect it is a very good read and a cracker for anyone interested in mosasaurs:

Amazon.com
 
Bravo, Phil!

Yet another impeccable article! Detailed yet concise, with just enough mystery to keep fossil cephalopod hunters alivating for the next big find!
 
Here's a mini-update on Tusoteuthis for you. A nice little .pdf showing the sequence that the fossils were found in in the Pierre Shale.

The line drawing of the squid is purely hypothetical of course!

Paleontology
 
erich orser said:
Bravo, Phil!

Yet another impeccable article! Detailed yet concise, with just enough mystery to keep fossil cephalopod hunters alivating for the next big find!

Sorry, just read my own ancient message. "Alivating". WTH is that, anyway? What was I thinking?
 
I am horribly aware that I have been so absent from this website for far too long. This is absolutely my fault and I apologise - inertia is a terrible sin.

However, I received an amazing surprise today when a fantastic copy of Vyacheslav Bizikov's absolutely stunning new hardback thesis "Evolution of the Shell of Cephalopoda" popped through my letterbox this morning. I was stunned to find Vyacheslav has read and acknowledged my Tusoteuthis article on this website and referenced it in the bibliography. I am absolutely dumbstruck by this, and deeply honoured.

Please do not read this and think I am writing this in a big-headed way, that's the last thing I would want anyone to think. I just simply wanted to share my joy with you for that an obscure little article I wrote on this website nearly five years ago has emerged into an acknowledgement in scientific literature.

I would like to thank Vyacheslav for the reference and also to thank Tony for the privilege of publishing it here on this site. I just don't know what to write anymore, but thank you all. I'm absolutely chuffed to bits.
 
Thanks Cuttlegirl! We just need to find one of these squidy beasts rammed down 'Monster X's' throat now as opposed to our old friend Cimolichthys. Cool.
 

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