Cephalopod paleobiology and evolution: new insights, rising problems, and perspectives

Abstract

In times when science, including paleontology, is being questioned by some, the rising interest in the paleontology and paleobiology of the most intelligent invertebrates, namely cephalopods, may raise the hope for a brighter future. Here we provide an overview of some exciting fields in cephalopod research, where (in our biased opinion) the most impressive advances have been made. These are, in roughly stratigraphical order: the phylogeny of early cephalopods (using Bayesian approaches); the origin of ammonoids; functional morphology of ammonoids (using ammonoid robots, grinding tomography, finite element analyses); stable isotope geochemistry of Mesozoic–Cenozoic cephalopods; ammonoid reproduction (based on exceptionally preserved fossils and substantive fecundity estimates); ammonoid morphological evolution and biodiversity dynamics; early coleoid evolution (multispectral imaging, RTI); new coleoid systematics; coleoid anatomy (synchrotron, UV); coleoid diversity in the Cretaceous (“digital fossil mining,” i.e., a system that excavates all fossils embedded in rocks through a combination of automated grinding tomography and artificial intelligence); food-web positions of various cephalopods (as prey or predator); and nautiloid evolution. Furthermore, we highlight some fields that require research focus and discuss threats and problems impacting research on fossil cephalopods.

Developmental mechanism and evolutionary process of cephalopod suckers
Ryosuke Kimbara, Hisanori Kohtsuka, Kohei Oguchi +2
iScience1 Oct 2026Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0EcologyCrossref
Purinergic Signalling in Snakebite Envenomation: Mechanistic Insights, Therapeutic Targets and Future Perspectives
Dhébora Albuquerque Dias, Maria Helena Souza Soares, Rita de Cássia Avellaneda Guimarães
Molecules10 Oct 2026Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textGenetics & genomicsCrossrefEurope PMC
Generation of a transgenic cephalopod
T. G. Montague, C. J. Gibbons, G. T. Barlow +11
bioRxiv23 Sep 2026PreprintCC BYFull textGenetics & genomicsbioRxiv
Trichoderma as a biological control agent against Colletotrichum -associated plant diseases: current insights and future perspectives
Rendra Adhitya, Mia Miranti, Thomas Argyarich Jefferson +8
Plant Signaling & Behavior19 Jun 2026Peer-reviewedCC BY6 citedCell biologyOpenAlex
Pathways of early evolution from the perspectives of a riboreplisome -- the ultimate RNA machine of life
Alice Cleynen, Archa H. Fox, Nikolay E. Shirokikh
arXiv25 Sep 2026PreprintCC BY 4.0Full textEvolutionary biologyarXiv

Cite

BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@article{klug2026cephalopod,
  title = {{Cephalopod paleobiology and evolution: new insights, rising problems, and perspectives}},
  author = {Christian Klug and René Hoffmann and Isabelle Rouget and Alexander Pohle and Alison Rowe and Dirk Fuchs and David Peterman and Yasuhiro Iba and Martina Aubrechtová and Björn Kröger and Kenneth de Baets and Amane Tajika and Isabelle Kruta and Margaret Mary Yacobucci},
  journal = {Journal of Paleontology},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1017/jpa.2026.10256},
  url = {https://hal.science/hal-05741889v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}

RIS

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Cephalopod paleobiology and evolution: new insights, rising problems, and perspectives
AU  - Christian Klug
AU  - René Hoffmann
AU  - Isabelle Rouget
AU  - Alexander Pohle
AU  - Alison Rowe
AU  - Dirk Fuchs
AU  - David Peterman
AU  - Yasuhiro Iba
AU  - Martina Aubrechtová
AU  - Björn Kröger
AU  - Kenneth de Baets
AU  - Amane Tajika
AU  - Isabelle Kruta
AU  - Margaret Mary Yacobucci
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/03
JO  - Journal of Paleontology
DO  - 10.1017/jpa.2026.10256
UR  - https://hal.science/hal-05741889v1
AB  - In times when science, including paleontology, is being questioned by some, the rising interest in the paleontology and paleobiology of the most intelligent invertebrates, namely cephalopods, may raise the hope for a brighter future. Here we provide an overview of some exciting fields in cephalopod research, where (in our biased opinion) the most impressive advances have been made. These are, in roughly stratigraphical order: the phylogeny of early cephalopods (using Bayesian approaches); the origin of ammonoids; functional morphology of ammonoids (using ammonoid robots, grinding tomography, finite element analyses); stable isotope geochemistry of Mesozoic–Cenozoic cephalopods; ammonoid reproduction (based on exceptionally preserved fossils and substantive fecundity estimates); ammonoid morphological evolution and biodiversity dynamics; early coleoid evolution (multispectral imaging, RTI); new coleoid systematics; coleoid anatomy (synchrotron, UV); coleoid diversity in the Cretaceous (“digital fossil mining,” i.e., a system that excavates all fossils embedded in rocks through a combination of automated grinding tomography and artificial intelligence); food-web positions of various cephalopods (as prey or predator); and nautiloid evolution. Furthermore, we highlight some fields that require research focus and discuss threats and problems impacting research on fossil cephalopods.
SN  - 0022-3360
ER  -

Abstract

Related

Cite