ExtinctZoo - When Krakens Were Real

Episode Date: September 28, 2024

Arrrr, here be krakens matey! Well, not really, but kind of... especially when you look at prehistoric waters.

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the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamavat Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. Of all the sea monsters ever imagined, perhaps none are as legendary or as feared as the Cracken, a beast of enormous sizes that used to terrorize the minds of sailors at sea, and at one point was truly considered to be a grievous threat to ships, with some naturalists even having held

them responsible for maritime losses, as exemplified by Dennis Montfort, a malacologist who deduced that a Cracken had destroyed 10 British warships in 1782. Based off of claimed sightings and artwork. It's often agreed upon that the crackin was meant to represent some kind of cephalopod, mainly an octopus or squid, and widely varied in size, with some reporting a length of 60 meters or 200 feet, while others claimed that it was many miles or kilometers long. And while we can now safely say that crackens aren't real, hopefully, they were still partly based on something real, with the main thought being that giant and colossal squids, plus maybe the giant Pacific octopus, helped foster its existence in sailors' minds. And it's not hard to do that. It's not hard to

to see why, as these very real cephalopods are the Earth's largest invertebrates, with giant squids being the longest and the colossal squid being the heaviest. And this shape and size has made them great the lasophobia-inducing creatures, and has cemented their status as the closest thing we have to real-life crackens. However, once upon a time, and actually a few times at that, cephalopods got even bigger than those of today and had more prominent roles in their ecosystems, sometimes even being the largest predators around. The story of prehistoric crackens is an old one, as cephalopods are among the oldest groups of animals still kicking,

or rather swimming, as they first evolved some 500 million years ago during the Cambrian period, making them more ancient than sharks, mammals, reptiles, and even insects. It's thought that they might have descended from a monoplacafora like mollusk, and were revolutionary in that they had tentacles and suckered arms, which allowed them to interact with their environment in many different ways. We currently know of over 30 different genera from this period, and while none were large, they were still extremely successful,

which led to them rapidly diversifying not long after during the Ordovician, and ultimately creating the first prehistoric crackens the world ever saw, the endoserata day. This was a family of large-bodied nautaloids, who had straight cone-shaped shells and were found virtually worldwide, with a heavy concentration within the shallow, yet, expansive equatorial oceans and seas of the Cambrian. There, thanks to their overpowered tentacles and arms, they ballooned in size, becoming not just giant cephalopods, but the largest animals

on the entire planet at the time. And while all members were relatively large, there were a couple that stood out, namely Cameroceras and Endoceras. Together they accounted for over 50 species, and they lived during the same time, in the same area, and were extremely similar in anatomy, with the only significant difference being that endoceras had a more textured shell. This subtle contrast has led to a lot of confusion over some specimens in regards to which genus they belong to. A slight issue, especially when considering that these specimens happen to be the largest fossils recovered, so unfortunately we aren't sure which one was bigger.

But for now, paleontologists tentatively give them similar measurements, with a hypothetical maximum length of 9.14 meters or 30 feet in adults. There are also some reports that endoceros gigantium, an abnormally large species of endoceras, got a tad bit larger, but this is unconfirmed. Additionally, these size estimates only refer to their shells, so if you add the part of the body that stuck out, then their length could have increased by another 16%. Although, because soft tissue doesn't fossilize well, it's hard to tell what their true length really was.

Nevertheless, their shells alone already put them on par with a colossal squid when it comes to length. And what's really impressive is that if you snip the tentacles off of a giant squid, which account for a large portion of its length, then suddenly the endoceras and Cameroceras become twice its length. And since these ancient crackens were much longer without tentacles being considered and had shells composed of calcium carbonate, they were also significantly heavier, with the heaviest believed to have been up to one ton,

whereas giant squids only reached 0.3 tons, and colossal squids only 0.5 tons. Thanks to this stature, these ancient cephalopods and endocerids in general were the undisputed apex predators of their time, with the only other two animals really coming close in size, being certain sea scorpions and the extremely strange arthropod, A. G.rocassus, but neither were threats to adult endocerids. It might have actually been the prey themselves, though if they were, they likely never saw it coming, as fully grown. and Ocerids were probably ambush hunters, which we speculate due to their hefty shells, which limited mobility. It's believed that they would have lied upon the sea floor waiting

until prey was close enough, where they could then swiftly strike at them with their powerful arms, before ushering their unfortunate victims into their waiting sharp beaks. And while no intact beak has ever been found, it is presumed that like modern cephalopods, endosarids had fibrous jaws made of chitin that were surrounded by powerful muscles, giving them a relatively strong bite force. And with this weapon, plus their arms, it's likely that anything was on the menu, including arthropods, mollusks, fish, and even other cephalopods. Although, of all their presumed victims, it's thought that trilobites were their main prey, as they were usually the right size, already inhabited the seafloor, and were one of the most abundant animals in the waters.

Along with being expert ambush hunters, endoceras and Cameroceras were also fairly fast, despite not being very maneuverable, as like modern squids, they had large funnels through which water was expelled at high rates, essentially granting them biological jet propulsion. And this was just one more tool that helped to add to the already hefty repertoire that allowed these prehistoric crackens to reign supreme. But unfortunately for them, and fortunately for others, they did not spend too long at the top. As 455 million years ago, at the end of the Ordovician, they and the rest of the swam into the first of Earth's big five extinction events, that being the late Ordovician mass extinction. This event is often thought to have been caused by intense glaciation, which caused drastic

decrease in sea levels and significant changes in temperature, and ultimately resulting in the killing off of the entire endosuradidae family and significantly harming cephalopod biodiversity overall. Following this event, cephalopods entered a period of decreased sizes, which lasted for over 200 million years, spanning all the way across the Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian periods. During this quote-unquote dry spell, cephalopods were slowly replaced by Eurptorids, sharks, and non-shark fish as the largest animals. And while it was in many ways a crackenless time, it was still very important to cephalopod history, as you could have enjoyed a vast array of alien-like-shelled cephalopods that seemed to only get crazier and crazier. There was also the

evolution of new groups, which included the likes of Sudorphisorita during the Silurian, and the famous ammonites, and bellemnoids during the Devonian. Not to mention that Cern genera picked up a very important evolutionary trait during these figurative dark ages, and that was ink sacs, which popped up in the Carboniferous, and to this day helped cephalopods confuse and blind predators trying to eat them. Additionally, even though species did not get as big as their Ordovician counterparts, they could still become, quote-unquote, mini-crackens, as multiple kinds managed to reach a couple of meters or feet in length. Of all the specimens found during these four periods, perhaps the largest confirmed genus was the Rayana Saras, a kind of

pseudo-Orthasarid that lived during the Carboniferous 325 million years ago. Like the earlier endocerids, this genus had a long-straged shell that housed most of the body, but it was not actually closely related to them and was distinguished by a large central or subcentral syphuncle. Furthermore, remains indicate that Rayana Saras inhabited waters near the equator and were found in both the Panthelassic super ocean and the smaller Tethas ocean. In these places, it preferred shallow warm waters where some individuals grew to be around 8 feet or 2.4 meters long, not including soft tissue, making it still quite sizable by modern standards. Although paleontologists doubt it was an apex predator, and it likely lived much like modern squids, preying upon small fish

and arthropods, while it itself may have been dinner for a new competitor on the scene, the Eugenie O'Dontida, a group of shark-like fish that sported strange jaws that were often perfectly designed for slicing through soft tissue. Beyond the Rihanna-Seras, things for cephalopods would remain rather anticlimatic, until that is, the Mesozoic, where they finally experienced a resurgence in size, perhaps spurred on by the pretext. Permian extinction, which due to its severity basically reset the oceans and seas of prehistoric Earth. As the Permian ended and the Triassic began, it was really the ammonites who took charge, so to speak, becoming both extremely abundant and diverse. Of the numerous species and families that

emerged, the cladicididae sit out the most, as they widely varied in size, with some having shells that were 1.7 meters or 5.6 feet in diameter. To put that into perspective, the Nautilus, the biggest current-shelled cephalopod only has a diameter one-seventh of that. So, due to this shell size, it's safe to assume that the biggest cladacidids were rather well-protected from external threats, and it helped them achieve a cosmopolitan range throughout the Triassic waters. Yet, for all the advantages that their size brought, one thing that they were not was fearsome, since most assume that the clandacidids fed on slow, swimming small creatures, like crustaceans, plankton, and ostracods, as well as vegetation, leaving bigger prey to predators such as the giant Ictheosaurs,

who were unequivocally the true aquatic kings of the time. But it was the Ammonites and cephalopods in general that would get the last laugh, because as the Mesozoic continued to unfold, they would tend to get even bigger, while the Ictheasors slowly got smaller and smaller, eventually being replaced by other nightmarish creatures. And by the time of the Jurassic, Ammonites had outgrown their Triassic ancestors in more ways than one. For starters, you had the Lido-Seratidae, a family of aminoids who became heavier than any sepulopod before them.

Specifically, a shell belonging to Lido-Seras, Taharoense, which was discovered in New Zealand, measured about 1.42 meters or 4.7 feet in diameter. And while not as long as the shells of giant cladacidids, paleontologists noted that its shell was more dense and robustly built, leading to a far heavier weight of around 1,200 kilos or 2,600 pounds, in other words, 1.3 tons, and thus making it heavier than even the endocerids. What's strange, though, is that despite being heavier, paleontologists think it was far faster, based upon the morphology of its shell, perhaps even being an active predator. Unfortunately, though, not much more is known about it due to its scarce fossil record,

a result of its preference for deeper waters. As previously alluded to, cephalopods of the Jurassic got bigger in more than one ways, so not just weight but also length, which is demonstrated by Megatuthis. This was a bellum knight that lived off the coast of what is today Europe and Asia, from the early to mid-Jurassic. In many ways, it was extremely similar to modern-day squids and actually belongs to the same subclass. Yet unlike their living relatives, Megatuthis had no tentacles and possessed an internal skeleton that formed its cone. While not as big as the giant or colossal squid, these prehistoric eyes could still get quite lengthy. with larger specimens measuring 3.11 meters or 10.2 feet, making them the largest bellum night ever recorded.

And if alive today, would be considered the fourth biggest cephalopod on the planet, at least by length. And while it wasn't the girthiest animal around, you still would not have wanted to swim into one. As like some modern squids, its arms were covered with up to 800 razor-sharp hooks that could be used to stab or hold onto prey, which consisted mainly of fish and small marine mammals. Not to mention, it also had a durable sharp beak, which could dish out surprisingly nasty bites. So all in all, this was one menacing squid-like creature, but it was still not the climax in cephalopod's size or thalasophobianness, as that occurred during the Cretaceous. Specifically, things really ramped up during the later stages of this period, and there was actually more than just one crack and worthy cephalopod existing at the exact same time.

In fact, there was even a single sea, the western interior seaway, that alone, house to three giants, the Tussotuthis, Ancotuthis, and Parapizosia. The first two are often grouped together, as they were remarkably similar in appearance, and both came from the same subfamily, the Ancotuthene. Unlike many before them, this subfamily members did not have shells, and were historically compared to modern squids, with paleontologists once thinking that there were massive vampire-like squids, or primitive relatives of giant squids, leading to various reconstructions that widely varied in size, with some estimates reaching 11 meters or 35 feet. Based on newer research,

it's now believed that Tussotuthis and Ancotututhis were actually more closely related to octopuses than anything else, and superficially resembled a giant cuttlefish, meaning they had no tentacles. And with their new classification, scientists think that a hypothetical length of three meters or 10 feet is more realistic. But unlike the megatuthis, which shared the same length, These two were fairly girthy, having plump mantles that were about as wide as those seen in colossal squids. Additionally, these mantles were shaped to reduce drag, and had fins or wings attached to the sides, which offered stabilization and increased speed. That together implied that these behemoths were active predators, who used pursuit tactics to hunt down a wide range of prey.

That included fish, small marine reptiles, arthropods, and even birds, as these cephalopods inhabited both deep and shallow waters. But for as scary as they were, there were still one more real-life kraken lurking around that dwarfed not only them but all others, the peripososia, the largest confirmed cephalopod of all time. This giant was not an Anko-toothid, but rather an ammonite from the Desmoseratidae family, who was related to squids, bellumnites, octopuses, and cuttlefish. Like Tussotuthis and Ancotuthis, it could be found in the western interior seaway,

but it was also known from other areas, such as Africa and Europe. Across all of its habitats, adults grew to massive proportions. Yet, it was really one incomplete shell in Germany that blew paleontologists away. Because if completed, it's estimated that this specimen would have had a shell diameter of up to 3.5 meters or 11 feet, making it bigger than the body of any anko-toothed. And if you somehow manage to uncurl it, it's thought that the pair of Pososia would have been 60 feet or 18 meters long, which is far greater than the length of even the longest recorded giant squids. and that's including their tentacles.

At this size, Parapizosia was an extremely heavy creature, too, who may have tipped the scales at 1.5 tons, with the shell alone accounting for nearly 50% of this weight. Ultimately, this made parapasosia not only the largest cephalopod ever, by weight, but the heaviest invertebrate of all time, too, a true kraken by all standards. In taking this size into account, paleontologists think that it might have fed on a variety of animals,

possibly being an opportunistic predator that ate whatever came at the same. way, which based upon its environment could have included marine reptiles, vertebrates, and fish. That being said, there are others that think it was more of a gentle giant, preferring a diet consisting of plankton or vegetation. The fact that Parapizosia and large encodeutids could all be found in one sea is seriously impressive. But the late Cretaceous was a haven to giant cephalpods worldwide, with another hotspot

being Japan, a bit ironic when considering the common trope of Japan being attacked by monsters who come from the water. It was here that paleontologists discovered two separate cephalpot beaks that perplexed them, as both were larger than the mouths seen in giant and colossal squids, with the larger of the two being about twice the size of any beak found in living squid species. They concluded that these two fossils had belonged to two separate genera of giant prehistoric squids, which they named Haberotuthis and Yezotuthus. Both were undeniably huge, but researchers do not necessarily believe that their beaks

implied body sizes twice that of the giant or colossal squid, and instead thinking that the beak's measurements reflected exceptionally powerful and wide bites that enabled them to become major predators in their environment, who were only limited by the size of prey rather than what they were. And this restriction only left a few animals off the menu, since paleontologists believed that both were among the largest marine life found in those waters. It should be noted though that of the two, Yezotuthis was slightly larger, although even it was not the real king, as paleontologists discovered yet another beak in Japan that was far larger than either of the two original fossils. However, no one is sure to what genus it belongs to,

or if it represents a new kind of cephalopod. And to add insult to injury, no real size estimate has been given for this prehistoric kraken. But safe to say, whatever it was, it did not make the waters any safer. And speaking of mysterious sepropods, there is a rather curious story I want to talk about. Although to discuss it, we do have to go back to the Triassic, as this story is about a monstrous cephalopod that supposedly dominated the Earth's oceans 215 million years ago, and this was the Triassic Cracken. Now, fair warning, this hypothesis is almost universally unaccepted, with basically only one paleontologist supporting it, and that is the guy who came up with it himself. He believes that the remains of nine giant

ichthyosaurs, who were found next to each other, were all victims of a massive cephalopod that had slayed them and then buried them meticulously in an aquatic graveyard. Given the lengths of the ichthyosaurus in question, he estimated that the giant kraken must have been 30 meters or 100 feet long in order to have successfully hunted them, making it by far the largest cephalopod and among one of the longest marine animals of all time. Only problem was that no cephalopod remains were found at the time. Plus, there were many more reasonable explanations, including that the Icthesaurus had died in a beaching event, or that they were separately buried next to each other due to weathering. On top of this, even at 30 meters or 100 feet, a cephalopod would have an extremely tough time

taking down a large ichthyosaur, let alone nine, and the story was quickly disregarded by most. However, the paleontologist was not deterred, and lo and behold, a few years later, he actually found a cephalopod fossil in the area, once again reigniting the story. The fossil in question was a beak, and while it was not as large as what he was expected, He still stated that it must have come from a bus-sized cephalopod, which would still make the Triassic Cracken among Earth's largest invertebrates. However, once again, there was a slight issue, because while there was indeed a beak, it was only five centimeters long, nearly identical to the length of a colossal squid's beak,

meaning that the claim of it being bus-sized seemed a bit implausible, and almost guaranteeing that it could not have killed nine giant ichthyosaurs. Though, a potentially colossal-sized squid during the Triassic would still be quite impressive. and calls into question just how many more undiscovered prehistoric crackens there really are. Thanks for watching, and until next time, on experience. Ambition comes in all shapes and sizes. At First Citizens Bank, we roll with your goals, because we're built for what you're building.

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