Giant octopuses measuring up to 62 feet (19 meters) in length were among the top ocean predators around 100 million years ago, according to a new research by Yasuhiro Iba, an associate professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Japan's Hokkaido University. The fossil discovery was made using a 3D-imaging technique called grinding tomography to create high-resolution datasets and an AI model. The fossils, named Nanaimoteuthis, were found in solid rock and show signs of intense wear from crushing hard prey, shells and bones. The study suggests that these creatures may have functioned as apex predators in the Cretaceous sea. The discovery suggests that the animals were an apex predator that rivaled marine reptiles and may have been feeding on other animals. The researchers plan to expand digital fossil mining to uncover organisms previously undetectable in the fossil record, which Iba believes can reveal the hidden players of ancient ecosystems.