Giant Jurassic belemnite unearthed in Wyoming reveals unexpected squid ancestor
Paleontologists have described a new, unusually thick belemnite species from the Jurassic Sundance Formation in Wyoming, naming it Wyoteuthis linsterorum.
An international team of scientists has formally described Wyoteuthis linsterorum, a new belemnite species from the Late Jurassic Sundance Formation of Wyoming. Its barrel-shaped rostrum, about 10 cm long and 6 cm wide, makes it the thickest belemnite known, implying a total body length of roughly 60 cm. CT imaging revealed features tying the animal to a lineage believed to have vanished long before the Jurassic.
The discovery stems from two rare fossils—one found by Burkhard Pohl in the 1990s and another recovered by collector Cliff Linster in 2019—both now housed at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Researchers suggest the creature may have hunted smaller co-occurring belemnites such as Pachyteuthis. The findings were published in Papers in Palaeontology and highlight how even well-studied fossil groups can still yield surprising new forms.
