Wyoming Fossil Unveils 160-Million-year-old Squid Relative

WHO:

FOX Weather - Researchers identified a new belemnite species named *Wyoteuthis linsterorum*.

FOX Weather - Belemnites are extinct marine animals related to modern squid and octopuses.

FOX Weather - Researchers said the fossils belonged to a rare belemnite family that had mostly disappeared millions of years earlier.

WHAT:

NY Post - Scientists discovered fossils of a new squid-like species in Wyoming.

FOX Weather - Two exceptionally rare fossils led researchers to identify *Wyoteuthis linsterorum*.

FOX Weather - The fossils represent the thickest, or “chunkiest,” belemnite identified in the fossil record.

FOX Weather - The internal skeletons measured about 60 millimeters across.

FOX Weather - A fossilized rostrum was about 4 inches long and up to 2.4 inches across.

FOX Weather - Researchers estimated, by comparison with other belemnites, that the animal may have reached nearly 2 feet in length; they cautioned that its unusual proportions make its overall size difficult to determine.

FOX Weather - The preserved fossil was the animal’s internal “guard,” not its entire body; the article described it as the creature’s fossilized “butt.”

FOX Weather - The discovery provides evidence that the belemnite group survived in a previously unknown refuge in the northeastern Pacific, and that a rare branch persisted in the ancient Sundance Sea longer than researchers had thought.

WHERE:

NY Post - The fossils were discovered in the upper part of Wyoming’s Sundance Formation.

FOX Weather - The Sundance Formation formed in the ancient Sundance Sea, which covered present-day Wyoming.

WHEN:

FOX Weather - The species lived during the Jurassic Period, roughly 160 million years ago.

WHY:

FOX Weather - The unusually thick, barrel-shaped rostrum earned the animal the nickname “chunky.”

HOW:

FOX Weather - Researchers identified the species from two rare fossils; the study was published in the journal *Papers in Paleontology*.

FOX Weather - Belemnites are commonly represented in the fossil record by their distinctive, bullet-shaped internal skeletons, which are often the only parts preserved.

(UPDATED October 23, 2026 14:23 UTC)

Scientists have identified a new squid-like species from two exceptionally rare fossils found in Wyoming’s Sundance Formation. Named *Wyoteuthis linsterorum*, the animal lived in the Jurassic Period, about 160 million years ago, when an ancient sea covered the region. It was a belemnite, an extinct marine animal related to modern squid and octopuses. Its unusually thick, barrel-shaped internal skeleton makes it the chunkiest belemnite identified in the fossil record. One preserved section measured about 60 millimeters across, while a fossilized rostrum was roughly 4 inches long and up to 2.4 inches wide. Researchers estimate the animal may have approached 2 feet in length, though its unusual proportions make its full size uncertain. The fossils also suggest a rare belemnite branch survived in the ancient sea longer than previously thought, in a refuge in the northeastern Pacific.