Legends about gargantuan squid have existed for millennia, with photos confirming their existence nearly 150 years ago. But what is the largest squid in the world?
Depending on how you measure, there are two contenders. The giant squid (Architeuthis dux) is the longest squid, and the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is the heaviest.
The giant squid, found in every ocean, is estimated to reach up to about 40 to 45 feet (12 to 14 meters) long from the tip of its body to the tip of its tentacles and weigh about 600 pounds (270 kilograms), Heather Judkins (opens in new tab), a cephalopod expert at the University of South Florida at St. Petersburg, told Live Science. There have been claimed sightings of giant squids up to about 66 feet long (20 m), but they have not been verified, according to Two Oceans Aquarium (opens in new tab) in Cape Town, South Africa.
The colossal squid, which lives in Antarctic waters but may venture as far north as New Zealand, is estimated to reach about 30 to 33 feet (9 to 10 m) long. However, what it lacks in total length compared with the giant squid, it makes up for in weight — it can reach about 1,000 pounds (450 kg), Judkins said. This likely makes the colossal squid the most massive invertebrate on Earth, according to ocean nonprofit Oceana (opens in new tab).
Giant squid and colossal squid have the largest eyes of any living animal, and possibly the largest eyes that have ever existed in the animal kingdom, according to the Museum of New Zealand (opens in new tab). They measure about 11 inches (27 centimeters) wide, about the size of a soccer ball, a 2012 study in the journal Current Biology (opens in new tab) noted.
Each colossal squid eye is also equipped with a light-emitting organ known as a photophore, the Museum of New Zealand said. Colossal squid use these photophores like headlights to see in the dark. (Giant squid eyes lack photophores, Judkins said.)
The colossal squid also has the largest beak of any squid, made of a material similar to what human fingernails are made of. The squid uses its beak to slice a meal into bite-size pieces before it enters the mouth, and a tooth-covered, tongue-like organ called the radula shreds food further once it’s inside the beak.
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