Scientists Just Exposed a 300 Million-Year-Old Fossil Mistake

A 300-million-year-old fossil once hailed as the oldest octopus has been reclassified as a nautiloid, not an octopus.

Synchrotron imaging revealed preserved soft tissue, a radula-like structure, and other features linking Pohlsepia mazonensis to modern Nautilus.

The study corrects a long-standing fossil misidentification and pushes back the record for the oldest preserved nautiloid soft tissue.

Researchers say the finding sharpens the timeline for octopus evolution and removes a major error from cephalopod history.