Squids, devil's fingers and tentacles

Cuttlefish, such as octopuses and squids, have a ring of tentacles on their heads - which is why these animals and their fossil and living relatives are called cephalopods (Cephalopoda in Greek). Today, there are more than 700 species of cephalopods, some of which live en masse in all the world's oceans, from the coast to the deep sea. In the geological past, the diversity of species was much greater than it is today. The oldest cephalopods are around 500 million years old.

Cephalopods belong to the molluscs, as do mussels and snails, although they have different lifestyles. Mussels live on or in the ground and filter microorganisms from the water. Snails crawl along the bottom and feed. Cephalopods, on the other hand, swim in the seawater as predators and hunt other marine animals.

Today, cephalopods hold amazing records among invertebrates. The giant squid Architeuthis, for example, reaches a length of over 18 metres. This makes it the largest mollusc with the largest lenticular eyes in the animal kingdom (diameter 30 cm). The pearl octopus Nautilus lays the largest eggs in relation to its body size (approx. 2 cm, otherwise less than 1 mm in many marine species) and the eight-armed octopuses are by far the most intelligent invertebrates.

The original cephalopods share with their relatives (snails, mussels) the possession of an externally visible calcareous shell (Ectocochleata), as in the ancient modern nautilids, while most modern representatives have moved their shells into the interior of the body and reduced them partially or completely (Endocochleata, Coleoidea).

In addition to the evolutionary history, the special exhibition at the Paläontologisches Museum München (Palaeontological Museum Munich) also sheds light on many palaeobiological aspects of cephalopods, such as their building plan, shell structure, way of life, interaction with other organisms and the diversity of this fascinating group of animals.

This exhibition is based on the collection of Prof Helmut Keupp (Berlin), which the Free State of Bavaria purchased for the State Collection in 2014 with the support of the local Friends of the State Collection. The collection comprises around 100,000 fossils with a focus on cephalopods (cephalopods), especially ammonites. It also contains extensive material on other invertebrate groups as well as fossils from selected fossil deposits. The specimens come from all over the world and from different periods of the Earth's history. The uniqueness of the Keupp Collection is based in particular on the thousands of specimens of pathological cephalopods. These are shells or other hard parts that show changes to their shells or hard parts due to genetic defects, diseases, injuries or the effects of predators.

Last edited on 01.06.2024