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Giant 19-metre-long octopuses may have ruled the ancient seas

EuroNews · · 490 words · By Angela Symons
Scientific Discovery/Paleontology
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/2026/04/24/a-fearsome-sight-19-metre-long-octopuses-pro…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 60% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

10 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 9
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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“Researchers studied the jaws of 15 ancient octopus fossils to determine how big the creatures may have been.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources report that researchers studied the jaws of 15 ancient octopus fossils. Web search results confirm the analysis of 15 jaw fossils from Japan and Vancouver Island.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, charact…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — April 15 is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 260 days remain until the end of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_15
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Highly Cited Researchers is a list published annually by Clarivate of academic authors who in the past eleven years have authored multiple highly cited publications in academic journals indexed by Web…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highly_Cited_Researchers
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“New analyses of fossilised jaws reveal that massive, kraken-like octopuses once hunted alongside other marine predators.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that massive octopuses hunted alongside other predators is supported by cross-references and web search results discussing the octopus's role as an apex predator in the Late Cretaceous seas, rivaling other marine reptiles.
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web search NEUTRAL — Google LLC (/ ˈɡuː.ɡəl / ⓘ, GOO-gəl) is an American multinational technology corporation focused on information technology, online advertising, search engine technology, email, cloud computing, softwa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google
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web search NEUTRAL — Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
https://www.google.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Learn more about Google. Explore our innovative AI products and services, and how we're using technology to help improve lives around the world.
https://about.google/
+ 1 more evidence source
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“They boasted eight arms and long bodies that extended up to 19 metres, rivalling other carnivorous marine reptiles.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results indicate that the estimated total length, including long arms, for the ancient octopuses ranged from 7 to 19 meters. While the claim mentions 'eight arms,' the web search results confirm the general size estimate.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ancient Greece (Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, romanized: Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ancient Greek (Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ [hellɛːnikɛ́ː]) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ancient Egypt was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in the eastern corner of North Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150 BC (according to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Dinosaur fans know that late Cretaceous-era waters were ruled by sharp-toothed sharks and sea reptiles known as mosasaurs and plesiosaurs.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that the Late Cretaceous seas were inhabited by mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, and also mention sharp-toothed sharks like *Cretoxyrhina*.
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web search NEUTRAL — Cretoxyrhina (/ krɪˌtɒksiˈrhaɪnə /; meaning 'Cretaceous sharp-nose') is an extinct genus of large mackerel shark that lived about 107 to 73 million years ago during the late Albian to late Campanian o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretoxyrhina
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web search NEUTRAL — This enormous chelonian inhabited the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous, evolving defenses that allowed it to survive in waters dominated by mosasaurs and other fearsome predators.
https://dino-world.com/meet-the-giant-predators-of-the-late-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Somehow, dinosaurs seem linked to the land. But then you have the creatures that swam the Mesozoic oceans—like the long-necked plesiosaurs and sharp-toothed mosasaurs— so what's up with that?
https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/geo…
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“In the new study, researchers studied the jaws of 15 ancient octopus fossils that were previously found in Japan and Canada's Vancouver Island.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results explicitly state that the 15 ancient octopus fossils analyzed were found in Japan and on Vancouver Island, Canada.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Vancouver International Airport (IATA: YVR, ICAO: CYVR) is an international airport located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, serving the city of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region. It…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_International_Airpor…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Vancouver Island University (abbreviated as VIU, formerly known as Malaspina University-College and Malaspina College) is a Canadian public research university serving Vancouver Island and coastal Bri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Island_University
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“They also identified 12 more jaws from Japan using a technique they created called digital fossil mining, which closely scans rocks in cross-sections to reveal fossils hiding inside.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that researchers used a technique called digital fossil mining to identify 12 additional jaws from Japan.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 JST (05:46:24 UTC), a Mw 9.0–9.1 undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, 72 km (45 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region of Japan. I…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tōhoku_earthquake_and_tsu…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, charact…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Type 12 Torpedo (12式短魚雷, 12 Shiki Tan Gyorai, development name G-RX5) is a lightweight anti-submarine homing torpedo developed by the Technical Research and Development Institute, a department of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_12_torpedo
+ 4 more evidence sources
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“They compared the jaws to that of modern-day octopuses to estimate how large the creatures may have been, and determined that the ancient octopuses ranged from seven to 19 metres in length.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that comparing the jaws to modern octopuses estimated the ancient octopuses ranged from 7 to 19 meters in length.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany occur frequently in the political discourse of anti-Zionism and part of the broader criticism of Israel. Given the legacy of the Holocaust, the nature of th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparisons_between_Israel_and…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "Nothing Compares 2 U" is a 1990 song written by Prince and most-famously covered by Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor from her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990). Writ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_Compares_2_U
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are simila…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The largest jaw was substantially bigger than that of any modern octopus, said co-author and palaeontologist Yasuhiro Iba with Hokkaido University in an email.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a cross-reference and web searches, confirm that co-author Yasuhiro Iba stated that the largest jaw was substantially bigger than any modern octopus jaw.
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web search NEUTRAL — Co-author and paleontologist Yasuhiro Iba from Hokkaido University noted in an email that the largest jaw was "substantially bigger than that of any modern octopus."
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/octop…
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web search NEUTRAL — The largest jaw was substantially bigger than that of any modern octopus, said co-author and paleontologist Yasuhiro Iba with Hokkaido University in an email.
https://apnews.com/article/kraken-cretaceous-octopus-fossil-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jaw fossils suggest a 60-foot octopus was the 'kraken' of the Cretaceous The ancient cephalopod, Nanaimoteuthis haggarti, appears to have been an apex predator that rivaled mosasaurs to rule ...
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/cretaceou…
+ 1 more evidence source
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“They also found that the largest creatures' jaws had significant wear and tear including scratches, chips and rounded edges, suggesting that “the animals repeatedly crushed hard prey such as shells and bones,” said Iba.”
CORROBORATED
The cross-reference source directly reports that the largest jaws showed wear and tear (scratches, chips, rounded edges) suggesting the crushing of hard prey like shells and bones, attributed to Iba.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — They also found that the largest creatures' jaws had significant wear and tear including scratches, chips and rounded edges, suggesting that “the animals repeatedly crushed hard prey such as shells an…
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/ma…
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“The findings were published on Thursday 23 April in the journal Science.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was gathered regarding the publication date or journal name for this claim.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.