Tusoteuthis

Tusoteuthis is an extinct genus of large enchoteuthine cephalopod that lived during the Cretaceous. Although often called a squid, it is now thought to be more closely related to modern octopuses. Although many specimens from the Western Interior Seaway of North America were described, at 2019, only one, poorly preserved specimen from Kansas is recognized as Tusoteuthis. One species, T. longa, is traditionally recognized. In 2019, due to the poor preservation of the holotype specimen, Tusoteuthis was considered likely to be a nomen dubium, and it was proposed that later described species are better to be included in the genus Enchoteuthis instead.

==Etymology== American paleontologist William N. Logan did not directly explain the etymology of Tusoteuthis when he named it in 1898. The generic name may be formed from Latin tusus "crushed" (passive participle of Latin tundo "beat, crush") + Greek teuthis "squid", alluding to the typically fragmented condition of the fossil gladius. The gender of the type species name was later corrected to the Latin feminine longa.