Enchoteuthis
| Enchoteuthis Temporal range:
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|---|---|
| Reconstructions of the holotype and largest specimens based on Muensterella and Dosidicus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Octopoda |
| Family: | †Muensterellidae |
| Genus: | †Enchoteuthis Miller & Walker, 1968 |
| Type species | |
| †Enchoteuthis melanae Miller & Walker, 1968
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| Other species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Enchoteuthis (meaning "spear squid") is an extinct genus of large enchoteuthine cephalopod that lived during the Cretaceous. Although it and its relative Tusoteuthis are often compared to squid, both are now thought to be more closely related to modern octopuses. Examination of gladius remains initially yielded an estimated mantle length of about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) based on one specimen once described as Tusoteuthis longa, which is close to or equal to that of the modern giant squid, although reclassification of this genus as a muensterelloid results in a longer total length, about 3 m (10 ft). Three species are currently recognized as valid: E. melanae, E. tonii, and E. cobbani.