Modern octopuses are known for their intelligence and flexibility, slipping through tight spaces, hiding in reefs, or drifting through the deep ocean. However, new research suggests their distant ancestors lived very differently. Scientists now believe that the earliest octopuses were not quiet, elusive creatures but massive predators that hunted at the very top of the marine food chain alongside large vertebrates. The study, led by researchers at Hokkaido University, was published in Science on April 23, 2026.

Tracing the origins of octopuses has long been difficult because their soft bodies rarely fossilize. Unlike animals with bones or shells, they leave behind very little physical evidence.…