While it seems like researchers are finding new fossils all the time, it is actually quite rare for an animal to become fossilized. The vast majority of all animals that ever lived do not become fossils, so each one that is found is an important discovery.

When it comes to soft-bodied animals like an octopus, fossils are even rarer.

So, in 1982 when a very well-preserved fossil of an ancient octopus was discovered in France, it was a very big deal. This fossil, which is called Proteroctopus ribeti, is of a 165-million-year-old cephalopod.

While not the oldest fossil of an octopus ever found, it is one of the most complete and best preserved. It is now kept in the Musee de Paleontologie de La Voulte-sur-Rhone where it is on display.

Since it was found in 1982, many experiments have been done on it to learn more about the ancient octopus and how evolution has worked its wonders on the species ever since.

One of the more recent studies was done in 2016 when scientists used a synchrotron X-ray microtomography machine to scan the fossil.

What they found was quite surprising, and revealed that a lot of what they thought they knew was incorrect.

First, the study moved the fossil from being an early octopus to being classified as a basal member of Vampyropoda. This group is made up of both octopuses and vampire squid.

Next, they found that this creature did not have an ink sac, which is a common feature of both modern octopuses and ancient cephalopods. The octopus did have two well-developed fins that aren’t present on most octopuses today (they are still on some deep-sea varieties). This likely meant that this creature was a more controlled swimmer than what we would find in the oceans today.

While modern octopuses are very soft, this fossil had something of an internal shell, which would have made it more ridged than its modern relatives.

Future tests may be able to reveal even more about the ancient octopus and how it evolved, and how modern creatures continue to evolve today. This is just one more reason why it is so important to unearth and preserve as many of the ancient fossils as possible.

Octopuses are amazing, and this fossil is continuing to change our perception of them.

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