Remarkable “Chunky” Jurassic Squid from Wyoming is Scientifically Described
A remarkable new species of Jurassic squid-like animal has been described from Wyoming. The bizarre belemnite, named Wyoteuthis linsterorum, lived around 160 million years ago (Oxfordian faunal stage). Furthermore, it had an extraordinarily thick and barrel-shaped internal skeleton.
An international research team studied two exceptionally rare fossils from the famous Sundance Formation. The scientists concluded that they represented a new genus and species of prehistoric cephalopod.
The Remarkable Wyoteuthis linsterorum
Belemnites were distant relatives of living squid and cuttlefish. Their fossils are extremely common in some marine deposits. Typically, the most frequently preserved part is a hard, bullet-shaped internal structure called the rostrum or guard.
Millions of belemnite fossils occur in Wyoming’s Sundance Formation. These rocks represent an ancient inland sea that once covered parts of western North America. However, Wyoteuthis linsterorum was very different from the more familiar belemnites found in these rocks. Most complete Wyoming belemnite rostra measure around 5–10 cm long. They are generally no more than 1–2 cm in diameter. In contrast, the rostrum of Wyoteuthis reached approximately 10 cm long but was around 6 cm thick at its broadest point.
Wyoteuthis linsterorum paratype with common Pachyteuthis belemnite guard provided for size comparison. Picture credit: Courtesy of Jessica Lippincott.
Picture credit: Courtesy of Jessica Lippincott
Consequently, the researchers describe it as the thickest belemnite rostrum known to science.
The complete animal, including its arms, could have measured approximately 60 cm long. Therefore, this was a surprisingly substantial cephalopod swimming in the Jurassic Sundance Sea.
Honouring the Linster Family
The genus name Wyoteuthis essentially means “Wyoming squid”. Meanwhile, the species name honours Cliff Linster and the Linster family. Cliff discovered one of the fossil specimens northwest of Ten Sleep, Wyoming. He subsequently donated it to the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in 2019 so that scientists could study it.
Cliff Linster, the discoverer of one of the Wyoteuthis linsterorum specimens, hunting for fossils. Picture credit: The Linster Family.
Picture credit: The Linster Family
The Linster family has a long association with fossil hunting. Indeed, Cliff’s son Wes discovered the fossil material that ultimately led to the naming of the dinosaur Bambiraptor.
Wes Linster recalled a childhood dominated by family fossil-hunting adventures:
“Our whole family has taken vacations into the Badlands looking for one treasure or another. The fun was in the search.”
Sadly, Cliff Linster passed away in June. However, he knew that scientists were studying his unusual discovery.
Speaking about the decision to honour the family, Wes added:
“It may not be a new species of T. rex, but I’m honoured to have an extinct giant squid bear our family name.”
He explained that his father remained passionate about searching for fossils throughout his life. Indeed, Cliff had been visiting the ridge where the specimen was discovered shortly before his death.
Dr Dean Lomax Remembers Cliff Linster
British palaeontologist and study co-author Dr Dean Lomax knew Cliff and Sandy Linster personally. Dean first met them in 2009. As a teenager, he spent time excavating a dinosaur bonebed on their property in northern Montana.
Dr Lomax commented:
“I have fond memories of that dig, listening to Cliff share his passion for fossils, including this belemnite. I’m honoured to help name this fossil after Cliff.”
Dr Lomax added:
“It’s bittersweet that he didn’t get to see it published, but it’s wonderful that we can immortalise him and his family name in the history of palaeontology.”
Cliff Linster looking for fossils northwest of the town of Ten Sleep (Wyoming) discovered a super-sized belemnite guard. Picture credit: The Linster Family.
Picture credit: The Linster Family
Dr Lomax is an 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Bristol and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester.
A Belemnite That “Stuck Out Like a Sore Thumb”
Wyoming palaeontologist and study co-author Bill Wahl helped bring the research team together. He immediately recognised that the extraordinary fossil deserved further investigation. According to the media release, the strange belemnite “stuck out like a sore thumb”.
The specimen was brought to the attention of belemnite specialist Alexey Ippolitov of Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand).
The researcher was deeply surprised by its unusual morphology. After more than two centuries of palaeontological discoveries, finding something so different within a well-studied fossil group is exceptional. The scientists used computed tomography (CT) scanning to examine the fossil’s internal structure. Crucially, this technique enabled them to investigate the specimen without damaging it.
Their research placed Wyoteuthis linsterorum within the family Megateuthididae. This group includes enormous belemnites known from older geological deposits. The discovery therefore provides important new evidence concerning the evolutionary history and persistence of these cephalopods.
Wyoteuthis linsterorum paratype (left) and holotype (right) with scale bar. Picture credit: Courtesy of Jessica Lippincott.
Picture credit: Courtesy of Jessica Lippincott
A Hunter of Other Jurassic Cephalopods?
Why Wyoteuthis evolved such a robust body remains uncertain. However, the researchers have proposed an intriguing possibility.
Alexey Ippolitov explained:
“A possible explanation is that their relatively large size gave them an advantage when hunting co-occurring smaller belemnites of the genus Pachyteuthis.”
He pointed out that living squid readily hunt other cephalopods. Some even prey upon members of their own species. Perhaps the unusually chunky Wyoteuthis was therefore an active predator of smaller belemnites sharing the Sundance Sea.
Illustration of Wyoteuthis linsterorum attacking a smaller belemnite (artwork by Jason Poole). Picture credit: Courtesy of Jessica Lippincott.
Picture credit: Courtesy of Jessica Lippincott (artwork by Jason Poole)
A Discovery Decades in the Making
The story actually began during the late 1990s. Dr Burkhard Pohl, founder of the Wyoming Dinosaur Center, discovered an unusually large belemnite in Hot Springs County.
The specimen remained unstudied in a collection drawer for many years. Around two decades later, Cliff Linster discovered another example. Eventually, researchers recognised that the two remarkable fossils represented something entirely new.
The fossils have now been formally described as Wyoteuthis linsterorum. Both specimens are displayed at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis (Wyoming). The scientific paper has been published in the journal “Papers in Palaeontology”.
Photo of the research team including Dr Dean Lomax (left) Jessica Lippincott (centre), and Bill Wahl (right), at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center. Picture credit: Courtesy of Dr Dean Lomax.
Picture credit: Dr Dean Lomax
The Secret Lives of Prehistoric Animals
Dr Dean Lomax has spent considerable time exploring Wyoming’s remarkable fossil record. His work has included collecting fossils and excavating plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs from the Sundance Formation.
Readers interested in how fossils reveal extraordinary details about prehistoric animals might also enjoy Dean’s recent book “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs – Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals”.
The front cover of the recently published book “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs – Unearthing the Real Behaviors of Prehistoric Animals” written by Dr Dean Lomax and illustrated by Bob Nicholls. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.
Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur
Illustrated by renowned palaeoartist Bob Nicholls, the book examines exceptional fossils that provide evidence about the lives and behaviours of long-extinct creatures. From predator-prey interactions to reproduction and prehistoric parenting, these remarkable fossils provide snapshots of events that occurred millions of years ago.
To read Everything Dinosaur’s review of this amazing book: “The Secret Lives of Dinosaurs” Reviewed.
We recommend this book. It can be purchased from Columbia University Press (search for Dr Dean Lomax): Columbia University Press.
The scientific paper: “The Big Chunky Belemnite’: A new relict megateuthidid from the Oxfordian (Late Jurassic) of Wyoming, USA, and its place in the evolutionary history of the group” by Ippolitov, A., Lippincott, J., Lomax, D. R., Wahl, W. 2026 published in Papers in Palaeontology.
