{
  "id": 17265699,
  "title": "This Bizarre Jurassic “Squid” Swam the Ancient Seas of Wyoming",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/this-bizarre-jurassic-squid-swam-the-ancient-seas-of-wyoming",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-30T18:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Nautilus",
    "slug": "nautilus",
    "url": "https://nautil.us/this-bizarre-jurassic-squid-swam-the-ancient-seas-of-wyoming-1286238/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the dusty plains of Wyoming, cowboy tales and bison roam, but beneath the surface lies a story of an ancient, peculiar cephalopod. A recent study published in Papers in Palaeontology has unveiled a new species of belemnite, named Wyoteuthis linsterorum, which once swam the Jurassic seas 160 million years ago. This fossil, discovered in the sundried rocks of Wyoming, is unlike any other found in the region. Measuring up to 18 inches in length, this chunky cephalopod boasted an unusually wide rostrum, a protective shell covering its soft body parts. Studied through CT scans, this belemnite's unique structure indicates it likely preyed upon smaller relatives, establishing its dominance in the Jurassic ecosystem. However, like many of its kind, it met its end during the Cretaceous period, when the dinosaurs disappeared and the belemnites vanished along with them.",
  "summary": "And likely gobbled up its smaller cephalopod relatives for lunch The post This Bizarre Jurassic “Squid” Swam the Ancient Seas of Wyoming appeared first on Nautilus .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}