Octopus ancestors lived before era of dinosaurs, study shows

By CHRISTINA LARSON
AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have described the oldest known fossil ancestor of octopuses — an approximately 330 million-year-old specimen found in Montana. The research pushes back the earliest occurrence of the ancestral line millions of years and shows that octopuses originated before the era of dinosaurs. The scientists named the fossil after President Joe Biden. They say they admire his science and research priorities. The research was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.