Incredible fossil shows cephalopod eating a fish

[Halichoeres]

This beautiful fossil from the Lower Jurassic of Germany shows the belemnoid cephalopod Clarkeiteuthis conocauda clutching the actinopterygian fish Leptolepis bronni in its tentacles. Based on the angles between the animals, the authors propose that the belemnoid captured the fish, and sank into an anoxic zone in the water while struggling to subdue it, where both suffocated.

The fossil and an interpretive diagram:


And a reconstruction of the moments before their death:


Open access in Scientific Reports: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44260-w

[Jose S.M.]

That's a really awesome fossil. It gives a nice view of the structure of the cephalopod.

[Faelrin]

It is quite the well preserved fossil, and quite possibly the first cephalopod one I've seen this well preserved yet. Had to do some research on anoxic zones though as my first thought was of those terrifying brine lakes, like the one with the eel in Blue Planet 2 (although seems like an anoxic zone isn't any better at all).

[Halichoeres]

It is quite the well preserved fossil, and quite possibly the first cephalopod one I've seen this well preserved yet. Had to do some research on anoxic zones though as my first thought was of those terrifying brine lakes, like the one with the eel in Blue Planet 2 (although seems like an anoxic zone isn't any better at all).

Yeah, it's kinda like that! I don't know if it would have been hypersaline, but still deadly enough with no oxygen. I'm also not familiar with very many Mesozoic cephalopods that are preserved this nicely, although there's a gorgeous Jurassic octopus (Proteroctopus).