Scientists have finally unveiled the remarkable evolutionary journey of squid and cuttlefish, resolving a long-standing mystery surrounding these intelligent cephalopods. Through the careful analysis of newly sequenced genomes and comprehensive global datasets, researchers have meticulously reconstructed their incredible history.
The findings indicate that these unique and highly intelligent marine creatures likely originated deep within the ocean over 100 million years ago. Crucially, they managed to withstand devastating mass extinction events by retreating to oxygen-rich deep-sea refuges. For millions of years, their evolutionary trajectory showed little change. However, a dramatic post-extinction boom sparked a rapid period of diversification, allowing these creatures to quickly expand into new, shallower-water habitats and thrive across the world’s oceans.