Scientists at Syracuse University in the United States have found that an ancient creature resembling a squid with a shell in the form of a paper clip could live for hundreds of years. This was announced in a press release on Phys.org.
The researchers studied the chemical composition of the Diplomoceras maximum shell by analyzing samples taken along the entire length of the shell at 50 centimeters intervals for the ratio of oxygen to carbon isotopes. They identified isotopic signatures indicating that methane rose from the seabed every year, leaving a mark on the shell of the clam. By the number of these tracks, scientists have estimated the age of the fossil animal – 200 years.
While some modern molluscs are known to live for several hundred years, squid only four or five years.
The cephalopod mollusk Diplomoceras maximum lived about 68 million years ago at the same time as dinosaurs, lived in the waters around Antarctica and could reach a length of 1.5 meters. He belonged to the group of ammonites, which became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period. The reason the shells were in the shape of a paper clip is unknown, but it is believed that this allowed the molluscs to escape pursuit by large marine predators, including the Mosasaurs.
