The Discovery
Researchers have identified a remarkably thick relative of ancient squids based on two rare fossils recovered in Wyoming, USA. The first specimen was spotted in the late 1990s by Dr. Burkhard Pohl, founder of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, but sat unstudied in a drawer for years. In 2019, fossil collector Cliff Linster uncovered a second specimen near Ten Sleep, Wyoming, and donated it to the center. Paleontologist Bill Wahl recognized that the fossils were extraordinary, bringing together an international research team from the United States, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand to examine them.
What Scientists Found
The newly classified species, named Wyoteuthis linsterorum, lived approximately 160 million years ago in an ancient inland sea known as the Sundance Formation. Belemnites were extinct relatives of squids and octopuses that typically left behind slender, bullet-like internal support structures called guards. In Wyoming, these guards usually measure 5 to 10 centimeters long and 1 to 2 centimeters wide. However, Wyoteuthis featured a barrel-shaped guard measuring about 10 centimeters long and 6 centimeters across, making it the chunkiest belemnite ever discovered. Scientists estimate the complete living animal, including its arms, reached about 60 centimeters in length.
Using computed tomography (CT) scans, researchers examined the interior of the fossils without causing damage. The internal features linked the animal to a family of belemnites that scientists thought had vanished millions of years before this creature lived.
Why It Matters
The discovery demonstrates that new prehistoric species can still be uncovered in regions studied by paleontologists for over two centuries. Expert Alexey Ippolitov noted that the animal's unusually wide build might have provided an advantage when hunting smaller, co-occurring belemnite species such as Pachyteuthis. The species name celebrates Cliff Linster and his family, whose past fossil finds also include the dinosaur Bambiraptor. Both of the rare Wyoteuthis fossil specimens are currently on display at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis.
Source: dinosaur fossil discovery - BingNews · Published October 09, 2026 · Photo by Gabriel Shimoni on Unsplash