Fossil Find Suggests , Octopuses Were Around , Before the Dinosaurs.<br />Scientists in Montana have discovered <br />a 330 million-year-old fossil <br />of the oldest-known ancestor of octopuses. .<br />'The Guardian' reports that researchers <br />believe the creature lived millions of years <br />earlier than previously believed. .<br />The discovery would mean that octopuses <br />were around before dinosaurs. .<br />The fossil measures 4.7 inches and has <br />ten limbs, as opposed to modern <br />octopuses, which now have eight limbs. .<br />Researchers believe the creature likely <br />lived in a shallow, tropical ocean bay. .<br />It’s very rare to find soft tissue fossils, <br />except in a few places. This is a very<br />exciting finding. It pushes back <br />the ancestry much farther <br />than previously known, Mike Vecchione, a Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History zoologist, via 'The Guardian'.<br />It’s very rare to find soft tissue fossils, <br />except in a few places. This is a very<br />exciting finding. It pushes back <br />the ancestry much farther <br />than previously known, Mike Vecchione, a Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History zoologist, via 'The Guardian'.<br />According to 'The Guardian,' the fossil <br />was discovered in Montana's <br />Bear Gulch limestone formation. .<br />It was donated to the Royal Ontario Museum in 1988. .<br />There, it remained overlooked for decades <br />until paleontologists took note of the specimen's <br />unique ten limbs encased in limestone. .<br />The creature is classified as a vampyropod, <br />which are the ancestors of both <br />modern octopuses and vampire squid. .<br />Researchers note that the next oldest <br />definitive vampyropod was dated <br />to around 240 million years ago.
