Rare, 10.3" Fossil Octopus (Keuppia) - One Of The Best Found!

This is an incredible 10.3" long octopus (Keuppia) from the Upper Cretaceous Sannine Formation of Hakel, Lebanon. This is one of the very best Octopus fossils ever found. The tentacles are well preserved and the ink sac is also visible. It lies on a thick slab of limestone. There are a few crack repairs but no restoration has been done on this specimen.

A paper describing this genus can be found at the link:

NEW OCTOPODS (CEPHALOPODA: COLEOIDEA) FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS (UPPER CENOMANIAN) OF HÂKEL AND HÂDJOULA, LEBANON

The discovery of amazingly preserved marine fossils near Hakel, Lebanon dates back many centuries. In fact, they were first mentioned in writing by Herodotus, over 450 years before the birth of Christ. The first scientific work on these localities began in the 1800s: these deposits have been meticulously quarried by several Lebanese families for over a century. We purchase our specimens directly from one of these families.

These deposits represent a warm, shallow sea of the Middle Cretaceous, and have yielded over 70 types of fish and numerous other genera found nowhere else in the world. The preservation on many of these specimens is truly amazing: many examples of soft bodied preservation have been found.

A photo of the quarry at Hakel, Lebanon
A photo of the quarry at Hakel, Lebanon

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Keuppia sp.
LOCATION
Hakel, Byblos, Lebanon
FORMATION
Sannine Formation
SIZE
10.3" long on 14 x 9.6" limestone
ITEM
#178395
GUARANTEE
We guarantee the authenticity of all of our specimens.