'Peculiar' new species of Jurassic squid found in Wyoming

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Add as preferred source Illustration of Wyoteuthis linsterorum by Jason Poole. Credit: Jessica Lippincott A "peculiar" new species of Jurassic squid-like animal has been unearthed in Wyoming, U.S., following the discovery of two exceptionally rare fossils dating to around 160 million years ago.

The newly named species, Wyoteuthis linsterorum, has been identified as a type of ancient cephalopod called a belemnite, a cousin of modern squid and octopus. Its unusually thick, barrel-shaped skeleton makes it the "chunkiest" or "fattest" belemnite ever discovered.

An international team of researchers from the U.S., U.K. and New Zealand, including Dr. Dean Lomax, honorary research fellow at The University of Manchester, described the discovery in the journal Papers in Palaeontology .