Life reconstruction of Sollasina cthulhu. (Credit: Elissa Martin, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History)

The fossilized remains of a 430 million-year-old sea creature that had tentacles longer than its body have been found in Herefordshire, Britain.

Given the name Sollasina cthulhu, due to its resemblance to the fictional Cthulhu sea beast thought of by American author H.P. Lovecraft, the creature was significantly smaller than the fictional monster, but perhaps just as scary to other sea creatures alive at the time.

“Although the fossil is just 3 [centimers] wide, its many long tentacles would have made it appear quite monstrous to other small sea creatures alive at the time,” a press release describing the find reads. “It is thought that these tentacles, or ‘tube feet’, were used もっと見る