Keuppia

Ke-up-pe-ah.
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John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

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Name

Keuppia

Phonetic

Ke-up-pe-ah.

Named By

Dirk Fuchs,‭ ‬Giacomo Bracchi,‭ ‬Robert Weis‭ ‬-‭ ‬2009.‭

Classification

Mollusca,‭ ‬Cephalopoda,‭ ‬Octopoda,‭ ‬Palaeoctopodidae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

K.‭ ‬hyperbolaris,‭ ‬K.‭ ‬levante

Size

Unavailable.

Known locations

Lebanon.

Time Period

Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Two specimens preserved flat upon slabs.

In Depth

       Along with Styletoctopus,‭ ‬the description of Keuppia was one of the big discoveries concerning the study of prehistoric cephalopods.‭ ‬Keuppia has the standard eight arms common to all octopuses yet is not yet a modern form.‭ ‬Inside the body there is what is called a gladius,‭ ‬a firm growth that is actually the remnant of the large outer shells that once surrounded the bodies of its ancestors.‭ ‬In modern octopuses the gladius is greatly reduced to a thin rod-like structure as to not hinder movement into crevices.‭ ‬Keuppia however with its‭ ‬larger gladius would not have been able to squeeze into such tight spaces,‭ ‬and may have been more pelagic‭ (‬living in open water‭) ‬as a result.‭ ‬When studied alongside Styletoctopus however the real significance can be appreciated,‭ ‬since the gladius of Styletoctopus is smaller than Keuppia,‭ ‬but still larger than those seen in modern forms.‭ ‬This indicates a transition from squid or squid-like ancestors,‭ ‬to primitive octopuses like Keuppia,‭ ‬to nearer modern forms like Styletoctopus,‭ ‬before the eventual appearance of today‭’‬s modern octopuses.Another prehistoric octopus genus discovered from Lebanese fossil deposits is Palaeoctopus.

Further Reading

– New octopods‭ (‬cephalopoda: coleoidea) from the late cretaceous (upper cenomanian) of H�kel and H�djoula, Lebanon. – ‬Dirk Fuchs,‭ ‬Giacomo Bracchi,‭ ‬Robert Weis‭ ‬-‭ ‬31st Dec‭ ‬2008‭ (‬pub January‭ ‬2009‭)

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