View source for Giant squid

{{Short description|Deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae}}
{{Other uses|Giant squid (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Colossal squid}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Giant squid
| image = Giant squid Ranheim.jpg
| image_caption = Specimen of a giant squid that washed ashore in [[Trondheim]], Norway, being measured in 1954
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Allcock, L. |author2=Barratt, I. |date=2014 |title=''Architeuthis dux'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T163265A991505 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T163265A991505.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| grandparent_authority = [[Georg Johann Pfeffer|Pfeffer]], 1900
| genus = Architeuthis
| parent_authority = [[Japetus Steenstrup|Steenstrup]] ''in'' Harting, 1860
| display_parents = 3
| species = dux
| authority = [[Japetus Steenstrup|Steenstrup]], 1857
| synonyms = {{Collapsible list|
* ''Architeuthus'' <small>Steenstrup, 1857</small>
* ''Dinoteuthis'' <small>More, 1875</small>
* ''Dubioteuthis'' <small>Joubin, 1900</small>
* ''Megaloteuthis'' <small>Kent, 1874</small>
* ''Megateuthis'' <small>Hilgendorf ''in'' Carus, 1880</small>
* ''Megateuthus'' <small>Hilgendorf, 1880</small>
* ''Mouchezis'' <small>Vélain, 1877</small>
* ''Plectoteuthis'' <small>Owen, 1881</small>
* ''Steenstrupia'' <small>Kirk, 1882</small>
}}
| range_map = Architeuthis distribution.png
| range_map_caption = Worldwide giant squid distribution based on recovered specimens
}}

The '''giant squid''' ('''''Architeuthis dux''''') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling [[squid]] in the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] '''Architeuthidae'''. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of [[deep-sea gigantism|abyssal gigantism]]; recent estimates put the maximum body size at around {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=on}} for females, with males slightly shorter,<ref name=OShea /> from the [[cephalopod fin|posterior fins]] to the tip of its long [[cephalopod limb|arms]]. This makes it longer than the [[colossal squid]] at an estimated {{convert|4.2|m|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite book |author1=Roper, C. F. E. |author2=Jereb, P. |year=2010 <!--|article=Family Cranchiidae--> |editor1=Jereb, P. |editor2=Roper, C. F. E. |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i1920e/i1920e00.htm |title=Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species known to date |volume=2 |article=Myopsid and Oegopsid Squids |series=FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes |id=No.&nbsp;4, Vol.&nbsp;2 |publisher=FAO |place=Rome |pages=148–178 |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129054613/http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i1920e/i1920e00.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> but substantially lighter, as it is less robust and its arms make up much of the length.<ref name=size>{{cite web |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=82&objectid=10507295 |title=Size matters on 'squid row' (+photos, video) |author=Atkinson, Kent |date=1 May 2008 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=25 September 2011}}</ref> The [[Mantle (mollusc)|mantle]] of the giant squid is about {{convert|2|m|abbr=on}} long (longer for females, shorter for males), and the feeding tentacles of the giant squid, concealed in life, are {{convert|10|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=OShea /> Claims of specimens measuring {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}} or more have not been scientifically documented.<ref name=OShea /><ref name=McClain_etal_2015 /><ref name="guide">[[Dianne Tracey|Tracey, D. M.]], O. F. Anderson & J. R. Naylor (2011). [https://fs.fish.govt.nz/Doc/23020/AEBR_86.pdf.ashx ''A guide to common deepsea invertebrates in New Zealand waters. Third edition.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223031328/https://fs.fish.govt.nz/Doc/23020/AEBR_86.pdf.ashx |date=23 February 2021 }} [[National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research]], Wellington. 317&nbsp;pp.</ref><ref name=Yukhov2014>Yukhov, V. L. (2014). [http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/129663/24-Yukhov.pdf Гигантские кальмары рода ''Architeuthis'' в Южном океане / Giant calmaries<!--sic--> ''Architeuthis'' in the Southern ocean] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309133809/http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/129663/24-Yukhov.pdf |date=9 March 2024 }}. [Gigantskiye kalmary roda ''Architeuthis'' v Yuzhnom okeane.] ''Ukrainian Antarctic Journal'' no. 13: 242–253. {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

The number of different giant squid species has been debated, but genetic research suggests that only one species exists.<ref name=genetics/> In 2004, a Japanese research team obtained the first images of a living specimen in its habitat.<ref name="first">{{cite journal |author1=Kubodera, T. |author2=Mori, K. |year=2005 |title=First-ever observations of a live giant squid in the wild |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences]] |volume=272 |issue=1581 |pages=2583–2586 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3158 |pmc=1559985 |pmid=16321779}}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==
The closest relatives of the giant squid are thought to be the four obscure species of "neosquid" in the family [[Neoteuthidae]], each of which belongs to its own [[Monotypic taxon|monotypic]] genus, as with the giant squid. Together, both families comprise the superfamily [[Architeuthoidea]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=WoRMS – World Register of Marine Species – Architeuthoidea Pfeffer, 1900 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1545775 |access-date=2023-04-10 |website=marinespecies.org|archive-date=10 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410082605/https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1545775 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Range and habitat ==
The giant squid is widespread, occurring in all of the world's oceans. It is usually found near continental and island slopes from the North Atlantic Ocean, especially [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], [[Norway]], the northern [[British Isles]], [[Spain]], and the oceanic islands of the [[Azores]] and [[Madeira]], to the South Atlantic around southern Africa, the North Pacific around [[Japan]], and the southwestern Pacific around [[New Zealand]] and [[Australia]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Guerra, Á. |author2=González, Á.F. |author3=Rocha, F. |author4=Gracia, J. |author5=L. Laria |year=2006 |title=Enigmas de la Ciencia: El Calamar Gigante |publisher=Coordinadora para el Estudio y la Protección de las Especies Marinas (CEPESMA) |place=Vigo, Spain |language=es}}</ref> Specimens are rare in tropical and polar latitudes.

The vertical distribution of giant squid is incompletely known, but data from trawled specimens and sperm whale diving behavior suggest it spans a large range of depths, possibly {{convert|300|-|1000|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |editor=Roper, C.F.E. |year=1998 |url=http://tolweb.org/Architeuthis |title=Architeuthidae [Pfeffer 1900] |website=Tree of Life web project |access-date=1 August 2007 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205042231/http://tolweb.org/Architeuthis |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Morphology and anatomy ==
{{see also|Squid|Cephalopod}}
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2020}}

Like all squid, a giant squid has a [[Mantle (mollusc)|mantle]] (torso), eight [[cephalopod limb|arms]], and two longer [[cephalopod limb|tentacles]] (the longest known tentacles of any cephalopod). The arms and tentacles account for much of the squid's great length, making it much lighter than its chief predator, the [[sperm whale]]. Scientifically documented specimens have masses of hundreds, rather than thousands, of kilograms.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

[[File:Giant squid tentacle club.jpg|left|thumb|Tentacular club of ''Architeuthis'']]
The inside surfaces of the arms and tentacles are lined with hundreds of subspherical [[suction]] cups, {{convert|2|to|5|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} in [[diameter]], each mounted on a stalk. The [[circumference]] of these suckers is lined with sharp, finely serrated rings of [[chitin]].<ref>{{cite journal |author=Roeleveld, M.A.C. |year=2002 |title=Tentacle morphology of the giant squid ''Architeuthis'' from the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans |journal=Bulletin of Marine Science |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=725–737 |url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2002/00000071/00000002/art00012 |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-date=8 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308112953/http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2002/00000071/00000002/art00012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The perforation of these teeth and the suction of the cups serve to attach the squid to its prey. It is common to find circular scars from the suckers on or close to the head of sperm whales that have attacked giant squid.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Giant Squid Sucker Marks {{!}} Smithsonian Ocean |url=https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/giant-squid-sucker-marks |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=ocean.si.edu|archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123030857/https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/giant-squid-sucker-marks |url-status=live }}</ref>

Each [[Cephalopod limb|tentacular club]] is divided into three regions—the [[Carpal bones|carpus]] ("wrist"), [[Manus (anatomy)|manus]] ("hand") and [[wiktionary:dactylus|dactylus]] ("finger").<ref>{{cite web |author1=Young, R.E. |author2=Vecchione, M. |author3=Mangold, K.M. |year=2001 |url=http://tolweb.org/accessory/Tentacular_Club_Variation_in_Cephalopods?acc_id=2145 |title=Tentacular club variation in cephalopods |website=Tree of Life web project |access-date=16 July 2007 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930220446/http://tolweb.org/accessory/Tentacular_Club_Variation_in_Cephalopods?acc_id=2145 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Young, R.E. |author2=Vecchione, M. |author3=Mangold, K.M. |year=2000 |url=http://tolweb.org/accessory/Cephalopod_Tentacle_Terminology?acc_id=1962 |title=Cephalopod tentacle terminology |website=Tree of Life web project |access-date=16 July 2007 |archive-date=22 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522025745/http://tolweb.org/accessory/Cephalopod_Tentacle_Terminology?acc_id=1962 |url-status=live }}</ref> The carpus has a dense cluster of cups, in six or seven irregular, transverse rows. The manus is broader closer to the end of the club, and has enlarged suckers in two medial rows. The dactylus is the tip. The bases of all the arms and tentacles are arranged in a circle surrounding the animal's single, parrot-like beak, as in other cephalopods.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

[[File:A piece of sperm whale skin with Giant Squid sucker scars.JPG|thumb|left|upright|A portion of [[sperm whale]] skin with giant squid sucker scars]]
Giant squid have small [[cephalopod fin|fins]] at the rear of their mantles used for locomotion. Like other cephalopods, they move through [[jet propulsion|jet]] propulsion—by pulling water into the mantle cavity, and pushing it through the [[Siphon (mollusc)|siphon]], in gentle, rhythmic pulses. They can also move quickly by expanding the cavity to fill it with water, then contracting muscles to jet water through the siphon. Giant squid breathe using two large [[Ctenidium (mollusc)|gills]] inside the mantle cavity. The circulatory system is closed, which is a distinct characteristic of cephalopods. Like other squid, they contain dark [[Cephalopod ink|ink]].<ref name=gut/>

[[File:Squid beak measuring.jpg|thumb|upright|The beak of a giant squid, surrounded by the [[Digestive system of gastropods|buccal mass]]]]

The giant squid has a sophisticated [[nervous system]] and complex brain, attracting great interest from scientists. It also has the largest [[cephalopod eye|eyes]] of any living creature except perhaps the [[colossal squid]]—up to at least {{convert|27|cm|abbr=on}} in diameter, with a {{convert|9|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} pupil (only the extinct [[Ichthyosauria|ichthyosaur]]s are known to have had larger eyes).<ref name=Nilsson2012>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2012.02.031 |title=A unique advantage for giant eyes in Giant Squid |year=2012 |last1=Nilsson |first1=Dan-Eric |last2=Warrant |first2=Eric J. |last3=Johnsen |first3=Sönke |last4=Hanlon |first4=Roger |last5=Shashar |first5=Nadav |journal=Current Biology |volume=22 |issue=8 |pages=683–688 |pmid=22425154|doi-access=free |bibcode=2012CBio...22..683N }}</ref> Large eyes can better detect light (including [[bioluminescence|bioluminescent]] light), which is scarce in deep water. The giant squid probably cannot see color, but it can probably discern small differences in tone, which is important in the low-light conditions of the deep ocean.<ref>{{cite book |author=Piper, R. |year=2007 |title=Extraordinary Animals: An encyclopedia of curious and unusual animals |publisher=Greenwood Press}}</ref>

Giant squid and some other large squid species maintain neutral [[buoyancy]] in [[seawater]] through an [[ammonium chloride]] solution which is found throughout their bodies and is lighter than seawater. This differs from the method of flotation used by most fish, which involves a gas-filled [[swim bladder]]. The solution tastes somewhat like [[Salty liquorice|salty liquorice/salmiak]] and makes giant squid unattractive for general human consumption.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-01 |title=Everything you need to know about giant squids |url=https://www.aquarium.co.za/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-giant-squids |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Two Oceans Aquarium |language=en}}</ref>

Like all [[cephalopod]]s, giant squid use organs called [[statocyst]]s to sense their orientation and motion in water. The age of a giant squid can be determined by "growth rings" in the statocyst's statolith, similar to determining the age of a tree by counting its rings. Much of what is known about giant squid age is based on estimates of the growth rings and from undigested beaks found in the [[stomach]]s of sperm whales.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

== Size ==
{{see also|Cephalopod size}}
The giant squid is the second-largest [[Mollusca|mollusc]] and one of the largest of all [[extant taxon|extant]] [[invertebrate]]s. It is exceeded only by the [[colossal squid]], ''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'', which may have a [[mantle (mollusc)|mantle]] nearly twice as long. Several extinct cephalopods, such as the [[Cretaceous]] [[Coleoidea|coleoid]]s ''[[Yezoteuthis]]'' and ''[[Haboroteuthis]]'',<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Tanabe, K. |author2=Hikida, Y. |author3=Iba, Y.|year=2006 |title= Two coleoid jaws from the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan |doi=10.1666/0022-3360(2006)080[0138:TCJFTU]2.0.CO;2 |volume=80 |pages=138–145 |journal=Journal of Paleontology|s2cid=130583140 }}</ref><ref name="Tanabe">{{cite journal |last1=Tanabe |first1=Kazushige |last2=Misaki |first2=Akihiro |last3=Ubukata |first3=Takao |date=2015 |title=Late Cretaceous record of large soft-bodied coleoids based on lower jaw remains from Hokkaido, Japan |url=https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app000572013.html |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica|volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=27–38 |doi=10.4202/app.00052.2013 |issn=0567-7920 |oclc=5789669966 |doi-access=free |access-date=22 August 2018 |archive-date=10 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810003128/https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app000572013.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Ordovician]] [[nautiloid]] ''[[Endoceras]]''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Klug |first1=Christian |last2=De Baets |first2=Kenneth |last3=Kröger |first3=Björn |last4=Bell |first4=Mark A. |last5=Korn |first5=Dieter |last6=Payne |first6=Jonathan L. |date=2015 |title=Normal giants? Temporal and latitudinal shifts of Palaeozoic marine invertebrate gigantism and global change |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/let.12104 |journal=Lethaia|volume=48 |issue=2 |pages=267–288 |doi=10.1111/let.12104 |bibcode=2015Letha..48..267K |access-date=16 November 2022 |archive-date=16 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116070147/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/let.12104 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> may have grown even larger. Although the Cretaceous ''[[Tusoteuthis]],'' with its {{convert|2|m|ft|frac=2|abbr=on}} long mantle, was once considered to grow to a size close to that of the giant squid (over {{convert|10|m|ft|0|disp=or|abbr=on}} including arms), this genus is likely doubtful. The largest specimen probably belonged to the genus ''[[Enchoteuthis]],'' estimated to have short arms, with a total length of only {{convert|3|m|1|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fuchs |first1=Dirk |last2=Iba |first2=Yasuhiro |last3=Heyng |first3=Alexander |last4=Iijima |first4=Masaya |last5=Klug |first5=Christian |last6=Larson |first6=Neal L. |last7=Schweigert |first7=Günter |date=2020 |editor-last=Brayard |editor-first=Arnaud |title=The Muensterelloidea: phylogeny and character evolution of Mesozoic stem octopods |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1254 |journal=Papers in Palaeontology|volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=31–92 |doi=10.1002/spp2.1254 |bibcode=2020PPal....6...31F |s2cid=198256507 |issn=2056-2802 |access-date=16 November 2022 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922052651/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1254 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Giant squid size, particularly total length, has often been exaggerated. Reports of specimens reaching and even exceeding {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}} are widespread, but no specimens approaching this size have been scientifically documented.<ref name=OShea>{{cite web |author1=O'Shea, S. |author2=K. Bolstad |year=2008 |url=http://www.tonmo.com/science/public/giantsquidfacts.php |title=Giant squid and colossal squid fact sheet |website=The Octopus News Magazine Online |access-date=8 April 2005 |archive-date=17 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117175518/http://www.tonmo.com/science/public/giantsquidfacts.php |url-status=live }}</ref> According to giant squid expert [[Steve O'Shea]], such lengths were likely achieved by greatly stretching the two tentacles like elastic bands.<ref name=OShea />

[[File:Giant Squid NASA.jpg|thumb|upright=2|A giant squid specimen measuring over {{convert|4|m|abbr=on}} without its two long feeding [[Tentacle#Tentacles in invertebrates|tentacles]]]]

Based on the examination of 130 specimens and of beaks found inside [[sperm whale]]s, giant squids' mantles are not known to exceed {{convert|2.25|m|1|abbr=on}}.<ref name=OShea/><ref name=guide /> Including the head and arms, but excluding the tentacles, the length very rarely exceeds {{convert|5|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=OShea/> Maximum total length, when measured relaxed ''post mortem'', is estimated at {{convert|12|m|abbr=on}} or {{convert|13|m|ft|abbr=on}} for females and {{convert|10|m|abbr=on}} for males from the posterior fins to the tip of the two long tentacles.<ref name=McClain_etal_2015>{{cite journal |vauthors=McClain CR, Balk MA, Benfield MC, Branch TA, Chen C, Cosgrove J, Dove AD, Gaskins LC, Helm RR, Hochberg FG, Lee FB, Marshall A, McMurray SE, Schanche C, Stone SN, Thaler AD |year=2015 |title= Sizing ocean giants: Patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna|journal= PeerJ|volume=3 |article-number=e715 |doi=10.7717/peerj.715|pmid=25649000 |pmc=4304853 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=OShea/><ref name=guide /><ref name=Yukhov2014 />

Giant squid exhibit [[sexual dimorphism]]. Maximum weight is estimated at {{convert|275|kg|abbr=on}} for females and {{convert|150|kg|abbr=on}} for males.<ref name=OShea/>

== Reproductive cycle ==
Little is known about the [[reproductive cycle]] of giant squid. They are thought to reach sexual maturity at about three years old; males reach sexual maturity at a smaller size than females. Females produce large quantities of [[egg]]s, sometimes more than {{convert|5|kg|abbr=on}}, that average {{convert|0.5|to|1.4|mm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|0.3|to|0.7|mm|abbr=on}} wide.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Roper |first1=Clyde F.E. |last2=Boss |first2=Kenneth J. |date=1982 |title=The Giant Squid |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11334/iz_roper_1982.pdf |magazine=Scientific American |publisher=W. H. Freeman and Company |volume=246 |issue=4 |pages=96–105 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0482-96 |access-date=23 April 2019 |archive-date=23 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423025041/https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/11334/iz_roper_1982.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Females have a single median [[ovary]] in the rear end of the mantle cavity and paired, convoluted [[oviduct]]s, where mature eggs pass, exiting through the oviducal glands, then through the [[nidamental gland]]s. As in other squid, these glands produce a gelatinous material used to keep the eggs together once they are laid.<ref name=gut/>

In males, as with most other cephalopods, the single, posterior [[Testicle|testis]] produces sperm that move into a complex system of glands that manufacture the [[spermatophore]]s. These are stored in the elongate sac, or [[Needham's sac]], that terminates in the penis from which they are expelled during mating. The penis is [[Prehensility|prehensile]], over {{convert|90|cm|abbr=on}} long, and extends from inside the mantle. The two ventral arms on a male giant squid are hectocotylized, which means they are specialized to facilitate the fertilization of the female's eggs.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Giant Squid |last=Roper |first=Clyde |journal=Scientific American |year=1982 |volume=246 |issue=4 |pages=96–105 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0482-96 |jstor=24966572 |bibcode=1982SciAm.246d..96R }}</ref>

How the sperm is transferred to the egg mass is much debated, as giant squid lack the [[hectocotylus]] used for reproduction in many other cephalopods. It may be transferred in sacs of spermatophores, called spermatangia, which the male injects into the female's arms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Martins |first1=Rodrigo Silvestre |last2=Perez |first2=José Angel Alvarez |date=2009 |title=A new record of giant squid Architeuthis sp. (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) in Brazilian waters |journal=Zoologia (Curitiba)|volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=613–623 |doi=10.1590/S1984-46702009005000012 |issn=1984-4689|doi-access=free }}</ref> This is suggested by a female specimen recently found in [[Tasmania]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/molluscs/southern-giant-squid-architeuthis-dux/ |title=Southern Giant Squid |last=Runck |first=Allison |website=The Australian Museum|access-date=2019-04-23 |archive-date=23 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423064313/https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/molluscs/southern-giant-squid-architeuthis-dux/ |url-status=live }}</ref> having a small subsidiary [[tendril]] attached to the base of each arm.

Post-[[larva]]l juveniles have been discovered in surface waters off New Zealand, with plans to capture more and maintain them in an [[aquarium]].<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Schrope, M. |date=27 February 2002 |url=http://animal.discovery.com/news/briefs/200202/giantsquid.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229015840/http://animal.discovery.com/news/briefs/200202/giantsquid.html |archive-date=2008-02-29 |title=Giant Squid babies captured |magazine=Discovery |department=News}}</ref> Young giant squid specimens were found off the coast of southern Japan in 2013 and confirmed through genetic analysis.<ref name="Wada">{{cite journal |last1=Wada |first1=Toshifumi |last2=Kubodera |first2=Tsunemi |s2cid=84081990 |title=First records of small-sized young giant squid Architeuthis dux from the coasts of Kyushu Island and the south-western Sea of Japan |journal=Marine Biodiversity Records |volume=8 |pages=158–164 |year=2015 |article-number=e153 |doi=10.1017/S175526721500127X |bibcode=2015MBdR....8E.153W }}</ref>

Another juvenile, approximately {{convert|3.7|m}} long, was encountered and filmed alive in the harbour in the Japanese city of [[Toyama (city)|Toyama]] on 24 December 2015; after being filmed and viewed by a large number of spectators, including a diver who entered the water to film the squid up close, it was guided out of the harbour into [[Toyama Bay]] by the diver.<ref>{{Cite web|author1=Euan McKirdy|author2=Junko Ogura|title=Giant squid surfaces in Japanese harbor|url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/28/asia/toyama-japan-giant-squid/index.html|access-date=2020-06-24|publisher=CNN|date=28 December 2015|archive-date=25 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625074922/https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/28/asia/toyama-japan-giant-squid/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Fessenden|first=Marissa|title=A Giant Squid Visits a Japanese Harbor|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/giant-squid-visits-japanese-harbor-180957658/|access-date=2020-06-24|website=Smithsonian Magazine|archive-date=24 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624234826/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/giant-squid-visits-japanese-harbor-180957658/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Genetics==
Analysis of the [[mitochondrial DNA]] of giant squid individuals from all over the world has found that there is little variation between individuals across the globe (just 181 differing genetic [[base pair]]s out of 20,331). This suggests that there is only a single species of giant squid in the world. Squid larvae may be dispersed by ocean currents across vast distances.<ref name=genetics>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23296-worlds-giant-squid-are-one-big-happy-family.html |first=Michael |last=Marshall |date=20 March 2013 |title=World's giant squid are one big happy family |magazine=New Scientist |issue=2909 |access-date=29 August 2017 |archive-date=31 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531164030/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23296-worlds-giant-squid-are-one-big-happy-family.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Ecology ==
=== Feeding ===
[[File:Display of sperm whale and giant squid battling in the Museum of Natural History.jpg|thumb|The dramatization of an underwater encounter between the sperm whale and giant squid, from a [[diorama]] in the Hall of Ocean Life at the [[American Museum of Natural History]]]]

Recent studies have shown giant squid feed on deep-sea fish, such as the [[orange roughy]] (''Hoplostethus atlanticus''), and other squid species.<ref name=gut>{{cite journal |author1=Bolstad, K.S. |author2=O'Shea, S. |year=2004 |title=Gut contents of a giant squid ''Architeuthis dux'' (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) from New Zealand waters |journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology |volume=31 |pages=15–21 |doi=10.1080/03014223.2004.9518354|s2cid=84948932 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Architeuthis_dux/ | title=Architeuthis dux | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] | access-date=22 September 2019 | archive-date=22 September 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922175206/https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Architeuthis_dux/ | url-status=live }}</ref> They catch prey using the two tentacles, gripping it with serrated sucker rings on the ends. Then they bring it toward the powerful beak, and shred it with the [[radula]] (tongue with small, file-like teeth) before it reaches the [[esophagus]]. They are believed to be solitary hunters, as only individual giant squid have been caught in fishing nets. Although the majority of giant squid caught by trawl in New Zealand waters have been associated with the local [[Blue grenadier|hoki]] (''Macruronus novaezelandiae'') fishery, hoki do not feature in the squid's diet. This suggests giant squid and hoki prey on the same animals.<ref name=gut />

=== Predators and potential cannibalism ===
The known predators of adult giant squid include [[sperm whale]]s, [[pilot whale]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Aguilar de Soto, N. |author2=Johnson, M. P. |author3=Madsen, P. T. |author4=Díaz, F. |author5=Domínguez, I. |author6=Brito, A. |author7=Tyack, P. |year=2008 |title=Cheetahs of the deep sea: Deep foraging sprints in short-finned pilot whales off Tenerife (Canary Islands) |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=77 |issue=5 |pages=936–947 |pmid=18444999 |url=http://www.marinebioacoustics.com/files/2008/Soto_et_al_2008.pdf |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2656.2008.01393.x |doi-access=free |bibcode=2008JAnEc..77..936A |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-date=23 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623165704/http://www.marinebioacoustics.com/files/2008/Soto_et_al_2008.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7400788.stm |title=Whales are 'cheetahs of the deep' |publisher=BBC News |date=14 May 2008 |access-date=15 May 2008 |archive-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517214658/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7400788.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[southern sleeper shark]]s,<ref name="Cherel">{{cite journal |author1=Cherel, Yves |author2=Duhamel, Guy |title=Antarctic jaws: Cephalopod prey of sharks in Kerguelen waters 
|journal=Deep Sea Research |series=Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=17–31 |year=2004 |doi=10.1016/j.dsr.2003.09.009 |bibcode=2004DSRI...51...17C}}</ref> and in some regions [[killer whale]]s.<ref>{{cite web |year=2021 |url=https://whale-tales.org/killer-whales-take-down-giant-squid-16-2-21/ |title=Killer Whales take down Giant Squid |website=whale-tales.org |access-date=13 October 2021 |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021151056/https://whale-tales.org/killer-whales-take-down-giant-squid-16-2-21/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Juveniles may fall prey to other large deep sea predators. Because sperm whales are skilled at locating giant squid, scientists have tried to observe them to study the squid. Giant squid have also been recently discovered to presumably steal food from each other;<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/ahoy-squiddy/554954/ |title=The bloody pirate life of one of the ocean's most elusive creatures |magazine=The Atlantic |access-date=2018-03-08|archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022075718/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/ahoy-squiddy/554954/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in mid-to-late October 2016, a giant squid measuring {{convert|9|m|abbr=on}} long, including its tentacles, washed ashore in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Spain]].<ref name=":1" /> The squid had been photographed alive by a tourist named Javier Ondicol shortly before its death, and examination of its corpse by the Coordinators for the Study and Protection of Marine Species (CEPESMA) indicates that the squid was attacked and mortally wounded by another giant squid, losing parts of its fins, and receiving damage to its mantle, one of its gills, and losing an eye. The intact nature of the specimen indicates that the giant squid managed to escape its rival by slowly retreating to shallow water, where it died of its wounds. The incident is the second to be documented among ''Architeuthis'' recorded in Spain, with the other occurring in [[Villaviciosa, Asturias|Villaviciosa]]. Evidence in the form of giant squid stomach contents containing beak fragments from other giant squid in Tasmania also supports the theory that the species is at least occasionally cannibalistic. Alternatively, such squid-on-squid attacks may be a result of competition for prey. These traits are seen in the [[Humboldt squid]] as well, indicating that cannibalism in large squid may be more common than originally thought.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=http://www.earthtouchnews.com/oceans/deep-ocean/washed-up-giant-squid-shows-signs-of-fierce-deep-sea-fight |title=Washed-up giant squid shows signs of fierce deep-sea fight |work=Earth Touch News Network |access-date=2017-09-03 |archive-date=19 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019224342/http://www.earthtouchnews.com/oceans/deep-ocean/washed-up-giant-squid-shows-signs-of-fierce-deep-sea-fight |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Population ==
[[File:Giant squid observed from seismic vessel, 30 May 2013.gif|thumb|Giant squid observed from seismic vessel off Brazil, 30 May 2013]]
Scientists have been unable to determine the worldwide population of giant squid to any degree of accuracy. Estimates have been put together based on the number of giant squid beaks found in the stomachs of deceased [[sperm whales]], a known predator of the giant squid, and the better-known population of sperm whales. Based on such observations, it has been estimated that sperm whales consume between 4.3 and 131 million giant squid annually, implying that the giant squid population is likewise well into the millions, but more precise estimates have been elusive.<ref>{{cite journal|last1 = Roper|first1 = Clyde|last2 = Shea|first2 = Elizabeth|journal = American Malacological Bulletin|title = Unanswered questions about the giant squid ''Architeuthis'' (Architeuthidae) illustrate our incomplete knowledge of coleoid cephalopods|publisher = American Malacological Society|volume = 31|year = 2013|issue = 1|page = 112|doi = 10.4003/006.031.0104| bibcode=2013AMalB..31..109R |s2cid = 85739861|url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278099127|access-date = 9 June 2023|archive-date = 17 May 2024|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240517133807/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278099127_Unanswered_Questions_About_the_Giant_Squid_Architeuthis_Architeuthidae_Illustrate_Our_Incomplete_Knowledge_of_Coleoid_Cephalopods|url-status = live}}</ref>

== Species ==
[[File:Architeuthis sanctipauli in National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, Taiwan.JPG|thumb|upright|''Architeuthis sanctipauli'' specimen exhibited in the [[National Museum of Natural Science]], Taichung, Taiwan]]
The taxonomy of the giant squid, as with many cephalopod genera, has long been debated. [[Lumpers and splitters]] may propose as many as seventeen species or as few as one. The broadest list is:{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
* ''Architeuthis dux'', Atlantic giant squid
* ''Architeuthis (Loligo) hartingii''
* ''Architeuthis japonica''
* ''Architeuthis kirkii''
* ''Architeuthis (Megateuthis) martensii'', North Pacific giant squid
* ''Architeuthis physeteris''
* ''Architeuthis sanctipauli'', southern giant squid
* ''Architeuthis (Steenstrupia) stockii''
* ''Architeuthis (Loligo) bouyeri''
* ''Architeuthis clarkei''
* ''Architeuthis (Plectoteuthis) grandis''
* ''Architeuthis (Megaloteuthis) harveyi''
* ''Architeuthis longimanus''
* ''Architeuthis monachus?'' 
* ''Architeuthis nawaji''
* ''Architeuthis princeps''
* ''Architeuthis (Dubioteuthis) physeteris''
* ''Architeuthis titan''
* ''Architeuthis verrilli''
It is unclear if these are distinct species, as no genetic or physical basis for distinguishing between them has yet been proposed.

In the 1984 ''FAO Species Catalogue of the Cephalopods of the World'', Roper, ''et al.'' wrote:<ref>{{cite book |author1=Roper, C.F.E. |author2=Sweeney, M.J. |author3=Nauen, C.E. |year=1984 |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i1920e/i1920e00.htm |title=Cephalopods of the World |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |place=Rome, Italy |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129054613/http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i1920e/i1920e00.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|Many species have been named in the sole genus of the family Architeuthidae, but they are so inadequately described and poorly understood that the systematics of the group is thoroughly confused.}}

In ''Cephalopods: A World Guide'' (2000), [[Mark Norman (marine biologist)|Mark Norman]] writes:<ref name=Norman>{{cite book |author=Norman, M.D. |author-link=Mark Norman (marine biologist) |year=2000 |title=Cephalopods: A world guide |publisher=ConchBooks}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The number of species of giant squid is not known, although the general consensus amongst researchers is that there are at least three species, one in the Atlantic Ocean (''Architeuthis dux''), one in the Southern Ocean (''A. sanctipauli'') and at least one in the northern Pacific Ocean (''A. martensi'').}}

In March 2013, researchers at the [[University of Copenhagen]] suggested that, based on [[DNA]] research, there is only one species:<ref name=genetics/><ref name=Gilbert>{{cite web |url=http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2013/2013.3/squid_dna_tom_inger/ |title=Monster from the deep hits the surface |last1=Gilbert |first1=Tom |last2=Winkelmann |first2=Inger |date=20 March 2013 |publisher=University of Copenhagen |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-date=24 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324052856/http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2013/2013.3/squid_dna_tom_inger |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|...&nbsp;researchers at the University of Copenhagen leading an international team, have discovered that no matter where in the world they are found, the fabled animals are so closely related at the genetic level that they represent a single, global population, and thus despite previous statements to the contrary, a single species worldwide.}}

== Timeline ==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2020}}
{{main|List of giant squid specimens and sightings}}
{{Wikisource|1=Popular Science Monthly/Volume 35/September 1889/Animal Life in the Gulf Stream}}
[[File:Alecton giant squid 1861.png|thumb|upright|[[French corvette Alecton|''Alecton'']] attempts to capture a giant squid in 1861]]
[[Aristotle]], who lived in the fourth century BC, described a large squid, which he called ''teuthus'', distinguishing it from the smaller squid, the ''teuthis''. He mentions, "of the calamaries, the so-called ''teuthus'' is much bigger than the ''teuthis''; for ''teuthi'' [plural of ''teuthus''] have been found as much as five [[ell]]s [{{val|5.7|u=m}}] long".<ref>{{cite book |author=Aristotle |author-link=Aristotle |url=http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/history_anim.mb.txt |title=Historia Animalium |access-date=11 June 2008 |archive-date=4 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704203420/http://classics.mit.edu//Aristotle/history_anim.mb.txt |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Pliny the Elder]], living in the first century AD, also described a gigantic squid in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Natural History]]'', with the head "as big as a cask", arms {{convert|30|ft|m|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} long, and carcass weighing {{convert|700|lb|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Ellis>{{cite book |author-link=Richard Ellis (biologist) |author=Ellis, R. |year=1998 |title=[[The Search for the Giant Squid]] |publisher=Lyons Press |place=London, UK}}</ref>{{rp|11}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Pliny |author-link=Pliny the Elder |title=Naturalis Historia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/e/ellis-squid.html |title=The search for the Giant Squid: Chapter One |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=1 March 2017 |archive-date=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307000803/http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/e/ellis-squid.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Tales of giant squid have been common among mariners since ancient times, and may have led to the [[Norse mythology|Norse]] legend of the ''[[kraken]]'',<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Kraken: When myth encounters science |year=2014|doi=10.1590/S0104-59702014000300010 |last1=Salvador |first1=Rodrigo B. |last2=Tomotani |first2=Barbara M. |journal=História, Ciências, Saúde-Manguinhos |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=971–994 |pmid=25338036 |doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.11755/3cfbff1d-83b6-492e-b6df-c4133a84a0e6 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> a tentacled [[sea monster]] as large as an island capable of engulfing and sinking any ship. [[Japetus Steenstrup]], the describer of ''Architeuthis'', suggested a giant squid was the species described as a [[sea monk]] to the [[Christian III of Denmark|Danish king Christian&nbsp;III]] ''circa'' 1550.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/07/sea-monks-sea-bishops-and-the-mysterious-umibozu-of-japan/ |title=Sea Monks, Sea Bishops, and the Mysterious Umibōzu of Japan |website=mysteriousuniverse.org|access-date=2017-10-24 |archive-date=7 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907071109/https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2014/07/sea-monks-sea-bishops-and-the-mysterious-umibozu-of-japan/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Lusca]] of the [[Caribbean]] and [[Scylla]] in [[Greek mythology]] may also derive from giant squid sightings. Eyewitness accounts of other sea monsters like the [[sea serpent]] are also thought to be mistaken interpretations of giant squid.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Henry |title="The Great Sea Serpent", Sea Monsters Unmasked, The Fisheries Exhibition Literature 3 |location=London |publisher=William Clowes and Sons |year=1883 |page=67}}</ref> Nevertheless, the historian {{ill|Otto Latva|fi}}, who has studied the past interactions between humans and giant squid, has pointed out that many old stories about sea monsters were not associated with giant squid until the late 19th century. Latva has proposed that the giant squid was ''monsterized'' in the 19th century by natural historians and other writers. Regarding seafarers' relationship with giant squid, he explains it as being pragmatic: they did not perceive giant squid as monsters, but as sea animals that could be utilized in various ways.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Latva |first=Otto |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781003311775 |title=The Giant Squid in Transatlantic Culture: The Monsterization of Molluscs |date=2023-05-11 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-31177-5 |edition=1 |location=London|doi=10.4324/9781003311775}}</ref>

Steenstrup wrote a number of papers on giant squid in the 1850s. He first used the term ''"Architeuthus"'' (this was the spelling he chose) in a paper in 1857. A portion of a giant squid was secured by the French [[corvette]] [[French corvette Alecton|''Alecton'']] in 1861, leading to wider recognition of the genus in the scientific community. From 1870 to 1880, many squid were stranded on the shores of Newfoundland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Devilfish: When giant squid ruled the northern sea |url=https://boulderbooks.ca/product/devilfish/ |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=Boulder Books {{!}} Canadian Publishing Company |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adler |first=Antony |date=2026-04-01 |title=Encounters in the Living Ocean |url=https://online.ucpress.edu/hsns/article/56/2/103/217800/Encounters-in-the-Living-OceanGiant-Squid-and |journal=Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences |language=en |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=103–135 |doi=10.1525/hsns.2026.56.2.103 |issn=1939-1811|url-access=subscription }}</ref> For example, a specimen washed ashore in [[Thimble Tickle Bay]], Newfoundland, on 2 November 1878; its mantle was reported to be {{convert|6.1|m|abbr=on}} long, with one tentacle {{convert|10.7|m|abbr=on}} long, and it was estimated as weighing {{convert|1|ST|1|order=flip}}.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/11329#/summary |title=Report on the cephalopods of the northeastern coast of America |pages=15–16 |last=Verrill |first=Addison Emery |year=1882 |via=biodiversitylibrary.org |access-date=30 April 2018 |archive-date=2 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602081809/https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/11329#/summary |url-status=live }}</ref> Many of these specimens were not preserved, often being processed into manure or animal feed.<ref name=":0" /> In 1873, a squid "attacked" a [[Dory (boat)|dory]] near [[Bell Island (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Bell Island]], Newfoundland. Many strandings also occurred in New Zealand during the late 19th century.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

[[File:Logy bay giant squid 1873.png|thumb|left|upright|Giant squid from [[Logy Bay–Middle Cove–Outer Cove|Logy Bay]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], in Reverend [[Moses Harvey]]'s bathtub, November/December 1873]]
Although strandings continue to occur sporadically throughout the world, none have been as frequent as those at Newfoundland and New Zealand in the 19th century. It is not known why giant squid become stranded on shore, but it may be because the distribution of deep, cold water where squid live is temporarily altered. Many scientists who have studied squid mass strandings believe they are cyclical and predictable. The length of time between strandings is not known, but was proposed to be 90&nbsp;years by ''Architeuthis'' specialist [[Frederick Aldrich]]. Aldrich used this value to correctly predict a relatively small stranding that occurred between 1961 and 1968.<ref name="Ellis" />

In 2004, another giant squid, later named "Archie", was caught off the coast of the [[Falkland Islands]] by a [[fishing trawler]]. It was {{convert|8.62|m|abbr=on}} long and was sent to the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] in London to be studied and preserved. It was put on display on 1 March 2006 at the [[Natural History Museum, London#The Darwin Centre|Darwin Centre]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/mar/01/science.arts |title=Giant sea creature goes on display |access-date=3 May 2010 |last=Jha |first=Alok |date=1 March 2006 |work=The Guardian |location=London, UK |archive-date=10 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080210140144/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1720435,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Holroyd2005">{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/new-squid-on-the-ice-block/2005/12/20/1135032018280.html |title=New squid on the (ice) block |access-date=31 August 2010 |author=Holroyd, Jane |date=21 December 2005 |newspaper=The Age |location=Melbourne, Australia |archive-date=28 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728082526/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/new-squid-on-the-ice-block/2005/12/20/1135032018280.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2006/feb/news_5255.html |title=Giant Squid goes on display |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060420195441/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2006/feb/news_5255.html |archive-date=20 April 2006 |publisher=Natural History Museum |date=28 February 2006}}</ref> The find of such a large, complete specimen is very rare, as most specimens are in a poor condition, having washed up dead on beaches or been retrieved from the stomachs of dead sperm whales.

Researchers undertook a painstaking process to preserve the body. It was transported to England on ice aboard a trawler, then defrosted, which took about four days. The major difficulty was that thawing the thick mantle took much longer than the tentacles. To prevent the tentacles from [[Decomposition|rotting]], scientists covered them in ice packs, and bathed the mantle in water. Then they injected the squid with a formol-saline solution to prevent rotting. It is now on show in a {{Convert|9|m|abbr=on}} glass tank at the Darwin Centre of the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]].{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

[[File:Giant squid melb aquarium03.jpg|thumb|The giant squid specimen preserved in a block of ice at the [[Melbourne Aquarium]]]]
[[File:Giant squid (Architeuthis sanctipauli) replica in Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (France).jpg|thumb| Specimen of giant squid nicknamed ''Wheke'' [[plastination|plastinated]] from 2005 and displayed on 26&nbsp;March 2008 in the [[Grande galerie de l'Évolution]] of the [[National Museum of Natural History, France|National Museum of Natural History]] in Paris]]

In December&nbsp;2005, the [[Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium|Melbourne Aquarium]] in Australia paid A$100,000 for the intact body of a {{convert|7|m|ft|-long|adj=mid}} giant squid, preserved in a giant block of ice, which had been caught by fishermen off the coast of New Zealand's [[South Island]] that year.<ref name="Holroyd2005" />

The number of known giant squid specimens was close to 700 in 2011,<ref name="Guerra et al. 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Guerra |first1=Á. |last2=González |first2=Á.F. |last3=Pascual |first3=S. |last4=Dawe |first4=E.G. |year=2011 |title=The giant squid ''Architeuthis'': An emblematic invertebrate that can represent concern for the conservation of marine biodiversity |url=https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/44216/1/BIOL%20CONSERV%20%2007.04.%202011-1.pdf |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=144 |issue=7 |pages=1989–1997 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.04.021 |bibcode=2011BCons.144.1989G |hdl=10261/44216 |hdl-access=free |access-date=20 March 2019 |archive-date=19 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819054504/http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/44216/1/BIOL%20CONSERV%20%2007.04.%202011-1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and new ones are reported each year. Around 30 of these specimens are exhibited at museums and aquaria worldwide.<ref name="Guerra et al. 2011"/> The [[Museo del Calamar Gigante]] in [[Luarca]], Spain, had by far the largest collection on public display, but many of the museum's specimens were destroyed during a storm in February 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.levante-emv.com/comarcas/2014/02/04/calamar-gigante-gandia-salva-temporal/1075304.html |title=El calamar gigante de Gandia se salva del temporal del Cantábrico |website=Levante-EMV |date=4 February 2014 |language=es |access-date=12 April 2014 |archive-date=17 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617102753/http://www.levante-emv.com/comarcas/2014/02/04/calamar-gigante-gandia-salva-temporal/1075304.html |url-status=live }} <!--https://www.webcitation.org/6NsfoK9JS--></ref>

The search for a live ''Architeuthis'' specimen includes attempts to find live young, including larvae. The larvae closely resemble those of ''[[Nototodarus]]'' and ''[[Onykia]]'', but are distinguished by the shape of the mantle attachment to the head, the tentacle suckers, and the beaks.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

=== Images and video of live animals ===
{{Main|List of giant squid specimens and sightings (2001–2014)#Quest for a live animal}}
By the turn of the 21st century, the giant squid remained one of the few extant [[megafauna]] to have never been photographed alive, either in the wild or in captivity. Marine biologist and author [[Richard Ellis (biologist)|Richard Ellis]] described it as "the most elusive image in natural history".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nuwer |first1=Rachel |author-link=Rachel Nuwer |title=Elusive Giant Squid Captured on Film for the First Time |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/elusive-giant-squid-captured-on-film-for-the-first-time-540930/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-date=24 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124011935/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/elusive-giant-squid-captured-on-film-for-the-first-time-540930/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Ellis />{{rp|211}} In 1993, [[Onykia robusta#Confusion with Architeuthis|an image purporting to show a diver with a live giant squid]] (identified as ''Architeuthis dux'') was published in the book ''European Seashells''.<ref>{{cite book |author1-link=Guido Poppe |author1=Poppe, G.T. |author2=Goto, Y. |year=1993 |title=European Seashells |publisher=Hemmen}}</ref> However, the animal in this photograph was a sick or dying ''[[Onykia robusta]]'', not a giant squid.<ref name=Norman /><ref name=Ellis/>{{rp|211}} The first footage of live (larval) giant squid ever captured on film was in 2001. The footage was shown on ''Chasing Giants: On the Trail of the Giant Squid'' on the [[Discovery Channel]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.niwa.cri.nz/news/mr/2002/2002-02-28-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625030821/http://www.niwa.cri.nz/news/mr/2002/2002-02-28-1 |archive-date=2008-06-25 |title=Chasing giants: On the trail of the Giant Squid |website=niwa.cri.nz |date=28 February 2002}}</ref>

==== First images of live adult ====
[[File:Live giant squid first image.jpg|thumb|The specimen from Goshiki beach is seen here tied with a rope, its delicate skin only partially intact. Muscular constriction around the squid's eye obscures much of its surface in this image.<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Steve O'Shea |author=O'Shea, S. |date=4 October 2003 |url=http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11880&postcount=14 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120919124358/http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11880&postcount=14 |id=11880 |archive-date=2012-09-19 |title=Re: Living ''Architeuthis'' photo |website=The Octopus News Magazine Online}}</ref>]]
The first image of a live mature giant squid was taken on 15 January 2002, on Goshiki beach, [[Kyōtango|Amino Cho]], [[Kyoto Prefecture]], Japan.<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Steve O'Shea |author=O'Shea, S. |date=4 October 2003 |url=http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11852&postcount=2 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204210053/http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11852&postcount=2 |archive-date=2013-02-04 |id=11852 |title=Re: Living ''Architeuthis'' photo |website=The Octopus News Magazine Online}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |language=ja |url=http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/daiouika.html |script-title=ja:丹後の海の生き物（ダイオウイカ） |website=Kyoto Prefecture Web Site |date=13 December 2006 |access-date=3 June 2009 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227094850/http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/daiouika.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |language=ja |url=http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/1203640969890.html |script-title=ja:ダイオウイカが舞鶴市神崎海岸に漂着しました |website=Kyoto Prefecture Web Site |date=January 2008 |access-date=3 June 2009 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224182148/http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/1203640969890.html }}</ref> The animal, which measured about {{convert|2|m|abbr=on}} in [[mantle (mollusc)|mantle]] length and {{convert|4|m|abbr=on}} in total length,<ref name=Kyoto/> was found near the water's surface. It was captured and tied to a [[Wharf|quay]], where it died overnight.<ref name="Kyoto">{{cite web |date=2002-02-01 |title= |script-title=ja:巨大イカ現れる |trans-title=Giant squid appears !! |url=http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/2-topicnews/news/2002/02-02-01/mega-squid/mega-squid-01.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217194915/http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/2-topicnews/news/2002/02-02-01/mega-squid/mega-squid-01.html |archive-date=2005-12-17 |website=Kyoto Prefecture Web Site |language=ja}} ({{cite web |date=2002-02-01 |script-title=ja:巨大イカ現れる |url=http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/2-topicnews/news/2002/02-02-01/mega-squid/mega-squid-02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051217194940/http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/kaiyo/2-topicnews/news/2002/02-02-01/mega-squid/mega-squid-02.html |archive-date=2005-12-17 |at=second page}})</ref> The specimen was identified by Koutarou Tsuchiya of the [[Tokyo University of Fisheries]]. It is on display at the [[National Museum of Nature and Science|National Science Museum of Japan]].

==== First observations in the wild ====
The first photographs of a live giant squid in its natural habitat were taken on 30 September 2004, by [[Tsunemi Kubodera]] ([[National Science Museum of Japan]]) and [[Kyoichi Mori]] ([[Ogasawara Whale Watching Association]]).<ref name=first/> Their teams had worked together for nearly two years to accomplish this. They used a five-ton fishing boat and only two crew members. The images were created on their third trip to a known [[sperm whale]] hunting ground {{convert|970|km|-2|abbr=on}} south of Tokyo, where they had dropped a {{Convert|900|m|abbr=on}} line baited with squid and shrimp. The line also held a camera and a flash. After over twenty tries that day, an {{convert|8|m|abbr=on}} giant squid attacked the lure and snagged its [[tentacle]]. The camera took over 500 photos before the squid managed to break free after four hours. The squid's {{convert|5.5|m|abbr=on}} tentacle remained attached to the lure. Later [[DNA]] tests confirmed the animal as a giant squid.<ref name=first />

[[Image:Giantsquidphoto2.png|thumb|left|One of the series of images of a live giant squid taken by Kubodera and Mori in 2004]]

On 27 September 2005, Kubodera and Mori released the photographs to the world. The photo sequence, taken at a depth of {{convert|900|m}} off Japan's [[Bonin Islands|Ogasawara Islands]], shows the squid homing in on the baited line and enveloping it in "a ball of tentacles". The researchers were able to locate the likely general location of giant squid by closely tailing the movements of sperm whales. According to Kubodera, "we knew that they fed on the squid, and we knew when and how deep they dived, so we used them to lead us to the squid". Kubodera and Mori reported their observations in the journal ''[[Proceedings of the Royal Society]]''.<ref name=first />

Among other things, the observations demonstrate actual hunting behaviors of adult ''Architeuthis'', a subject on which there had been much speculation. The photographs showed an aggressive hunting pattern by the baited squid, leading to it impaling a tentacle on the bait ball's hooks. This may disprove the theory that the giant squid is a drifter which eats whatever floats by, rarely moving so as to conserve energy. The observations suggest that the species has a much more aggressive feeding technique.

==== First video of live adult in natural habitat ====
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Liv giant squid video December 4 2006.jpg|thumb|A still image from the first video of a live adult giant squid, showing the intact reddish skin of this species, which is almost always damaged in stranded or trawl caught specimens. The animal can be seen holding onto the smaller squid which was initially caught on the line.<ref name=video />{{ifdc|1=Live giant squid video 4 December 2006.jpg|log=2009 April 12}}]] -->
In November 2006, American explorer and diver [[Scott Cassell]] led an expedition to the [[Gulf of California]] with the aim of filming a giant squid in its natural habitat. The team employed a novel filming method: using a [[Humboldt squid]] carrying a specially designed camera clipped to its fin. The camera-bearing squid caught on film what was claimed to be a giant squid, with an estimated length of {{convert|40|ft|order=flip}}, engaging in predatory behavior.<ref name="Board">{{cite web |url=http://www.underseavoyagerproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=69 |title=Board of Directors |publisher=Undersea Voyager Project |year=2010 |access-date=26 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224011837/http://www.underseavoyagerproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=69 |archive-date=24 December 2011}}</ref><ref name="EG">{{cite web |url=http://www.exploregreen.com/bios/Scott%20Cassell%20-%20EG%20Bio.pdf |title=Scott Cassell |department=Biography |publisher=Explore Green |access-date=26 November 2012 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233138/http://www.exploregreen.com/bios/Scott%20Cassell%20-%20EG%20Bio.pdf }}</ref> The footage aired a year later on a [[History (U.S. TV network)|History Channel]] program, ''[[MonsterQuest#Season one (2007–2008)|MonsterQuest: Giant Squid Found]]''.<ref name="EG" /> Cassell subsequently distanced himself from this documentary, claiming that it contained multiple factual and scientific errors.<ref name="ScubaBoard">{{cite web |url=http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/marine-life-ecosystems/210712-monster-quest-giant-squid-found-scott-cassells-blog.html |title=Monster Quest: The Giant Squid – found |series=Scott Cassell's Blog |last=Cassell |first=Scott |author-link=Scott Cassell |date=20 November 2007 |publisher=ScubaBoard.com |access-date=26 November 2012 |archive-date=7 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207193650/http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/marine-life-ecosystems/210712-monster-quest-giant-squid-found-scott-cassells-blog.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=July 2024}}

In July 2012, a crew from television networks [[NHK]] and [[Discovery Channel]] captured what was described as "the first-ever footage of a live giant squid in its natural habitat".<ref name="NHK-press-release"/><ref>{{cite news |date=7 January 2013 |title=Giant squid filmed in Pacific depths: Japan scientists |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=http://ph.news.yahoo.com/giant-squid-filmed-pacific-depths-japan-scientists-060634721.html |access-date=31 July 2013 |archive-date=11 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111101701/http://ph.news.yahoo.com/giant-squid-filmed-pacific-depths-japan-scientists-060634721.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The footage was revealed on a {{ill|NHK Special|qid=Q10851846|s=1|v=sup}} on 13 January 2013,<ref>{{cite web |title=Giant Creature |url=http://www.nhk.or.jp/ocean/giantcreature/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109094955/http://www.nhk.or.jp/ocean/giantcreature/ |archive-date=9 January 2013 |access-date=7 January 2013 |work=NHK Ocean and Planet |publisher=[[NHK]] |language=ja}}</ref><ref name="oricon">{{cite news |date=6 January 2013 |script-title=ja:史上初の快挙 深海で泳ぐダイオウイカを世界初放送 |language=ja |trans-title=The first admirable act: The first broadcast of the giant squid which swims in the deep sea |publisher=Oricon |url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/movie/2020338/full/ |access-date=8 January 2013 |archive-date=8 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108090015/http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/movie/2020338/full/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and was shown on Discovery Channel's show ''Monster Squid: The Giant Is Real'' on 27 January 2013,<ref name="oricon" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Robey |first=Jason |date=12 October 2012 |title=Giant Squid Captured on Video for First Time |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/show-news/giant-squid-captured-on-video-for-first-time.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212150837/http://dsc.discovery.com/show-news/giant-squid-captured-on-video-for-first-time.html |archive-date=12 December 2012 |publisher=Discovery }}</ref> and on ''Giant Squid: Filming the Impossible – Natural World Special'' on [[BBC Two]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0377t15 ''Giant Squid: Filming the Impossible – Natural World Special''] . BBC.</ref> To capture the footage the team aboard OceanX's vessel [[MV Alucia]] traveled to the Ogasawara Islands, south of Tokyo and utilized the ship's crewed submersibles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-12 |title=Search for the Giant Squid |url=http://www.oceanx.org/search-for-the-giant-squid/ |access-date=2019-04-01 |website=OceanX }}{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> The squid was about {{convert|3|m|abbr=on}} long and was missing its feeding tentacles, likely from a failed attack by a [[sperm whale]]. It was drawn into viewing range by both artificial [[bioluminescence]] created to mimic panicking [[Atolla jellyfish]] and by using a ''[[Thysanoteuthis rhombus]]'' (diamond squid) as bait. The giant squid was filmed feeding for about 23 minutes by [[Tsunemi Kubodera]] until it departed.<ref>''Monster Squid: The Giant Is Real''. Discovery Channel.</ref> The technique of using unobtrusive viewing and bioluminescence luring of the squid with quiet unobtrusive platforms was described by [[Edith Widder]], a member of the expedition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transcript of "How we found the giant squid" |date=5 March 2013 |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_how_we_found_the_giant_squid/transcript |access-date=2015-12-13 |archive-date=5 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105204044/http://www.ted.com/talks/edith_widder_how_we_found_the_giant_squid/transcript |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Second video of giant squid in natural habitat ====
On 19&nbsp;June 2019, in an expedition run by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association ([[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2468/NOAA-Funded-Expedition-Captures-Rare-Footage-of-Giant-Squid-in-the-Gulf-of-Mexico |title=NOAA-funded expedition captures rare footage of Giant Squid in the Gulf of Mexico |website=NOAA Research|access-date=2019-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627194025/https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2468/NOAA-Funded-Expedition-Captures-Rare-Footage-of-Giant-Squid-in-the-Gulf-of-Mexico |archive-date=2019-06-27}}</ref> known as the Journey into Midnight, biologists [[Nathan J. Robinson (biologist)|Nathan J. Robinson]] and [[Edith Widder]] captured a video of a juvenile giant squid at a depth of {{convert|759|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the Gulf of Mexico. Michael Vecchione, a NOAA Fisheries zoologist, confirmed that the captured footage was that of the genus ''Architeuthis'', and that the individual filmed measured at somewhere between {{convert|10|and|12|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jarvis |first=Brooke |date=2019-06-21 |title=Giant Squid, phantom of the deep, reappears on video|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/science/giant-squid-cephalopod-video.html |access-date=2019-06-22 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621131800/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/science/giant-squid-cephalopod-video.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Other sightings ====
{{Main|List of giant squid specimens and sightings (2001–2014)#Quest for a live animal|List of giant squid specimens and sightings (2015–present)}}
Videos of live giant squids have been occasionally captured near the surface since the 2012 sighting, with one of these aforementioned individuals being guided back into the open ocean after appearing in Toyama Harbor on 24 December 2015. The majority of these sightings were of sick or dying individuals that had come up to the surface.<ref name="video">{{cite news |date=22 December 2006 |title=Giant squid caught on video by Japanese scientists |work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUST14899720061222 |access-date=2 July 2017 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308144758/https://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUST14899720061222 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NHK-press-release">{{cite news |date=9 January 2013 |title=The Giant Squid, captured on camera in its natural habitat for the first time ever! Revealed on NHK and the Discovery Channel |publisher=NHK |url=http://www.nhk.or.jp/pr/english/press/pdf/20130109.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004233759/http://www.nhk.or.jp/pr/english/press/pdf/20130109.pdf |archive-date=4 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Giant Squid visits harbor in Japan |url=http://news.discovery.com/animals/giant-squid-visits-harbor-in-japan-151228.htm |department=News |magazine=Discovery |access-date=28 December 2015 |archive-date=31 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231022652/http://news.discovery.com/animals/giant-squid-visits-harbor-in-japan-151228.htm }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=29 December 2015 |title=Rare Giant Squid caught on film in Japan |url=https://www.yahoo.com/travel/amazing-rare-giant-squid-caught-on-film-in-japan-203905325.html |access-date=30 December 2015 |series=Animals Amazing! |publisher=Yahoo! Travel |archive-date=1 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101115126/https://www.yahoo.com/travel/amazing-rare-giant-squid-caught-on-film-in-japan-203905325.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Aquarium keeping ==

The giant squid cannot be kept in aquariums due to its hard-to-reach habitat, body size, and special needs. In 2022, a live specimen was found off the coast of Japan, and an attempt was made to transport it to the Echizen Matsushima Aquarium in the city of [[Sakai]]. The squid died and was placed on display in the aquarium.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220429/p2a/00m/0na/009000c | title=Ultra-rare live giant squid washes ashore in Japan | date=29 April 2022 }}</ref>

== Cultural depictions ==
{{main|Giant squid in popular culture|Kraken in popular culture}}
[[File:20000 squid holding sailor.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration from the original edition of ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas]]'' depicting a giant squid]]
Representations of the giant squid have been known from early legends of the [[kraken]] through books such as ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' and [[Jules Verne]]'s 1870 novel ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas]]'' on to other novels such as Ian Fleming's ''[[Dr. No (novel)|Dr.&nbsp;No]]'', Peter Benchley's ''[[Beast (Benchley novel)|Beast]]'' (adapted as a film called ''[[The Beast (1996 film)|The&nbsp;Beast]]''), and [[Michael Crichton]]{{'s}} ''[[Sphere (novel)|Sphere]]'' (adapted as a [[Sphere (1998 film)|film]]).

In particular, the image of a giant squid locked in battle with a [[sperm whale]] is a common one, although the squid is the whale's prey and not an equal combatant.<ref>{{cite news |author=Hoare, Philip |date=3 June 2013 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/professor-malcolm-clarke-acclaimed-authority-on-thesperm-whale-and-giant-squid-8642928.html |title=Professor Malcolm Clarke, acclaimed authority on the sperm whale and giant squid |department=Obituary |quote=Giant squid eaten by sperm whales |website=The Independent|location=London |access-date=29 August 2017 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925115815/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/professor-malcolm-clarke-acclaimed-authority-on-thesperm-whale-and-giant-squid-8642928.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=January 2021}}

== See also ==
* [[Colossal squid]], the largest squid species by mass
* ''[[Enteroctopus]]'', a genus whose members are commonly known as giant octopuses
* [[Giant Squid Interpretation Site]], a small museum in Glovers Harbour, Newfoundland
* [[Gigantic octopus]], a hypothesised species of octopus
* [[Humboldt squid]], a large species of squid and the only member of the genus ''Dosidicus''
* [[Largest organisms]]
* ''[[Taningia danae]]'', a large squid species of the genus ''Taningia''
* [[Cephalopod attack]]

{{Clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite AV media |publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] |medium=video |title=Sea Monsters}}
* {{cite magazine |author1=Aldrich, F. A. |author-link1=Frederick Aldrich |author2=Brown, E. L. |year=1967 |title=The Giant Squid in Newfoundland |magazine=The Newfoundland Quarterly |volume=LXV |issue=3 |pages=4–8}}
* {{cite news |title=New giant squid predator found |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3370019.stm |access-date=6 October 2005 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 January 2004}}
* {{cite news |author=Holroyd, J. |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/new-squid-on-the-ice-block/2005/12/20/1135032018280.html |title=New squid on the (ice) block |newspaper=[[The Age]] |date=21 December 2005}}
* {{cite magazine |author=Grann, D. |url=http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/040524fa_fact1?040524fa_fact1 |title=The Squid Hunter |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=24 May 2004 |access-date=11 December 2006 |archive-date=23 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323041610/http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/040524fa_fact1?040524fa_fact1 }}
* {{cite news |title=New giant squid predator found |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,238263,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106231918/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C238263%2C00.html |archive-date=6 January 2007 |access-date=22 December 2006 |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=22 December 2006}}
* {{cite news |title=New giant squid predator found |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2661691.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=15 January 2003 |access-date=4 January 2010}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Architeuthis}}
{{Wikispecies|Architeuthis}}
{{CephBase Genus|Architeuthis}}
* [[Tree of Life Web Project]]: [http://tolweb.org/Architeuthis ''Architeuthis'']
* [http://www.tonmo.com/science/public/giantsquidfacts.php TONMO.com's fact sheet for giant and colossal squids]
* [http://www.tonmo.com/science/public/architeuthisreproduction.php TONMO.com's giant squid reproduction article]
* [http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life-ecosystems/giant-squid/ Giant squid – Smithsonian Ocean Portal]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070205061750/http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/squid99.html New Zealand – 1999 Expedition Journals In Search of Giant Squid]

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[[Category:Giant squid| ]]
[[Category:Cephalopods described in 1860]]