Jurassic Squid Ink Same as Modern Squid Ink

Jurassic Squid Ink Same as Modern Squid Ink

Ink from 160-million-year-old giant squid is essentially identical to today’s squid ink. The discovery suggests that the ink and the ink-screen escape mechanism of squid have not evolved much (if at all) since the Jurassic Period. The finding, published in the latest Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, might just prove that if it isn’t broken, nature isn’t going to fix it.

Researchers came to the determination after studying ink sacs from two giant squid fossils found two years ago in England. The primary component of squid ink is melanin, a substance that gives skin, hair and certain other things color. It’s why squid ink is so dark in color. Since melanin hasn’t changed much over the years, this research indicates that melanin could be preserved intact in the fossils of a range of organisms.