How Big Is the Giant Squid? A Full Analysis of Body Length and Weight Data
The giant squid, also known as the squid, usually inhabits deep-sea regions and is a mollusk of the genus Architeuthis in the family Architeuthidae. It is mainly found in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Its body length is estimated at about 20 m, making it the largest species among squids and the legendary deep-sea monster. Let's take a look below at just how big the giant squid really is!
How big is the giant squid?
The giant squid is the second-largest squid in the world (the largest is the colossal squid, also known as the Antarctic colossal squid, which is generally 2 to 3 m larger than the giant squid, and in some cases 4 to 5 m larger), with a body between 18 and 20 m. Generally, juvenile giant squid have a body length of 8 to 10 m, adult giant squid can reach 20 m, and the largest giant squid can grow to 80 m or even longer, weighing as much as 50 tons. Its eyes are astonishingly large, with a diameter of about 35 cm, and the diameter of its suckers is also more than 8 cm.
Giant squid population distribution
The giant squid lives in the deep-sea waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean and is distributed worldwide, with its distribution areas related to continental shelves and islands. It is found in the North Atlantic (especially Newfoundland, Norway, the North Sea, the British Isles, the Azores and Madeira), the waters off South Africa in the South Atlantic, the waters around Japan in the North Pacific, the waters around New Zealand and Australia in the southeastern Pacific, and the waters around the South Pacific, while it is rarely distributed in tropical and high-latitude polar seas.
What does the giant squid eat?
The giant squid is extremely fierce in temperament, feeds on fish and invertebrates, and can fight with giant whales. There are often reports abroad of giant squid fighting with sperm whales. According to records, on one occasion people witnessed a giant squid using its thick tentacles and suckers to tightly entangle a sperm whale, while the sperm whale used all its strength to bite the tail of the giant squid. The two sea behemoths rolled violently, churning up waves that surged into the sky, and then both sank to the bottom of the sea, never to be seen again. There have been cases in which a giant squid used its tentacles to clamp a whale's blowhole, causing the whale to suffocate to death. The giant squid's weapon is ten “arms”, covered with round suckers, and the edges of the suckers have a ring of small serrations that can suck out the flesh of sperm whales, thereby leaving many round scars on sperm whales (the long strip-shaped scratches are left by the colossal squid).
History of giant squid discoveries
In November 1861, while sailing from Cadiz, Spain, to Tenerife, the French warship “Alecton” encountered a sea monster 5 to 6 m long with 2 m long tentacles. The captain, Bouyer, later wrote that he believed it was the large octopus that had caused much debate and that many people considered fictional. Bouyer and the crew harpooned it and also lassoed its tail with a rope. But the monster wildly waved its arms, broke the harpoon and escaped, leaving only a piece of flesh weighing about 40 pounds on the rope.
In December 1946, the ocean-going oil tanker “Brunswick”, 150 m long and with a deadweight of 15,000 tons, was attacked by a giant squid between Hawaii Island and Samoa Island. A giant squid more than 20 m long suddenly shot out of the deep water to the surface and quickly caught up with the oil tanker traveling at 19 km per hour. After swimming alongside the ship for a while, it lightning-fast traced a semicircle, went around the ship from the front to the right side, rushed rapidly toward the ship, clung to the side, and struck hard at the hull plating. It was obvious that the giant squid was trying to grab hold of the smooth metal surface of the hull. But unfortunately, its body kept sliding toward the stern and finally hit the propeller, suffering a fatal blow.
In November 1978, three fishermen in Newfoundland, Canada, found a huge marine animal stranded on the beach because of the ebbing tide. The fishermen said its body was fully 7 m long, some tentacles were more than 11 m long, the suckers on the tentacles had a diameter of 10 cm, and its eyes were as big as a plate. The fishermen hooked it, and the monster struggled for a while and soon died.
In January 2003, a giant squid suddenly appeared in the coastal waters of Portugal, tangling itself in a boat participating in the Jules Verne Trophy round-the-world sailing race, giving the French crew on board a real fright. However, it was a near miss; the giant squid withdrew on its own and spared the crew.
In January 2014, this kind of scenario that might appear in movies and science fiction became reality through the cooperative efforts of Japanese biologists with NHK and the Discovery Channel. After 1,000 expeditions and more than 400 hours of diving search missions, they finally captured images of the giant squid. Squid expert Tsunemi Kubodera, who took part in the project, said they followed this enormous beast all the way to the seabed 900 m deep before watching it continue away toward an even deeper undersea canyon. From the photos, it can be seen that this giant squid glittered all over, its eyes were clearly visible, and its body length was estimated at 8 m, but its two longest tentacles were missing.