Tusoteuthis is believed to have had very large eyes and good
eyesight to navigate the depths of the Western Interior Seaway, which
is believed to have been as deep as 600 feet (180 meters) in some areas.
Tusoteuthis was a giant squid nearly equal in size to
those that ply the oceans today—with their tentacles stretched out, the
ancient cephalopods may have measured 25 to 35 feet (8 to 11 meters)
long. Like the modern giant squid, Tusoteuthis lacked an outer
shell and is known only from discoveries of the rigid support structure
in its body called a pen or gladius. The pen was akin to a backbone but
made of delicate shell-like material called chitin.
The pen supported a fleshy body with large eyes, a sharp beak, and presumably ten arms lined with suckers that made Tusoteuthis a formidable predator in the Late Cretaceous seas. Smaller cephalopods and fish were likely dietary staples, though small marine reptiles that visited the ocean depths may have fallen prey as well.
The pen supported a fleshy body with large eyes, a sharp beak, and presumably ten arms lined with suckers that made Tusoteuthis a formidable predator in the Late Cretaceous seas. Smaller cephalopods and fish were likely dietary staples, though small marine reptiles that visited the ocean depths may have fallen prey as well.
