Artist Uses 95-Million-Year-Old Ink To Illustrate A Prehistoric Octopus

The prehistoric octopus fossil was found in Lebanon in 2009. While fossils of cephalopods are pretty rare in this area of the Middle East, this specimen was particularly special as it featured an intact ink sac. The specimen was bought by PallVenn (the Society of Friends of the Paleontological Museum Oslo) and gifted to the Paleontological Museum in Oslo. By mixing the dried pigment powder from the fossilized ink sack with water, she was able to create the ink.

Van Hulsen’s illustration can now be found side-by-side with the original fossil at the Natural History Museum in Oslo.

^{Image credit: Esther van Hulsen}