This list of giant squid specimens and sightings is a comprehensive timeline of recorded human encounters with members of the
genusArchiteuthis, popularly known as
giant squid. It includes animals that were caught by fishermen, found washed ashore, recovered (in whole or in part) from
sperm whales and other predatory species, as well as those reliably sighted at sea. The list also covers specimens incorrectly assigned to the genus Architeuthis in original descriptions or later publications.
The giant squid's existence was established beyond doubt only in the 1870s, with the appearance of an extraordinary number of complete specimens—both dead and alive—in
Newfoundland waters (beginning with
#21;
Earle, 1977;
McConvey, 2015). These were meticulously documented in a series of papers by
Yale zoologist
Addison Emery Verrill (
Coe, 1929:36;
G.E. Verrill, 1958:69).[nb 3] The earliest known photographs of the giant squid were of two of these Newfoundland specimens, both from 1873: first a single severed tentacle—hacked off a live animal as it "attacked" a fishing boat (
#28;
Murray, 1874b:121)—and weeks later an intact animal in two parts (
#29);[nb 4] the head and limbs of this latter specimen were famously shown draped over the sponge bath of
Moses Harvey, a local clergyman, essayist, and amateur naturalist (
Aldrich, 1987:109;
Frank, 2014). Harvey secured and reported widely on both of these important specimens—as well as numerous others—and it was largely through his efforts that giant squid became known to
North American and
British zoologists (
Aldrich, 1987:115). Recognition of Architeuthis as a real animal led to the reappraisal of earlier reports of gigantic tentacled sea creatures, with some of these subsequently being accepted as records of giant squid, the earliest stretching back to at least the
17th century (
Ellis, 1994a:379,
1998a:257;
Sweeney & Roper, 2001:[27]).
It is not known why giant squid become stranded on shore, but it may be because the distribution of deep, cold water where they live is temporarily altered. Marine biologist and Architeuthis specialist
Frederick Aldrich proposed that there may be a periodicity to the strandings around Newfoundland, and based on historical data suggested an average interval between mass strandings of some 30 years. Aldrich used this value to correctly predict a relatively small stranding event between 1964 and 1966 (beginning with
#170;
Aldrich, 1967a,
1968). Although strandings continue to occur sporadically throughout the world, few have been as frequent as those in Newfoundland in the late 19th century. A notable exception was a 15-month period between 2014 and 2015, during which an unprecedented 57 specimens were recorded from Japanese coastal waters of the
Sea of Japan (beginning with
#518;
Kubodera et al., 2016; see also
Sakamoto, 2014).[nb 5]
Despite these recent advances and the growing number of both specimens and recordings of live animals, the giant squid continues to occupy a unique place in the public imagination (
Guerra et al., 2011:1990). As
Roper et al. (2015:83) wrote: "Few events in the natural world stimulate more excitement and curiosity among scientists and laymen alike than the discovery of a specimen of Architeuthis."
Earlier efforts to compile a list of all known giant squid encounters throughout history include those of marine writer and artist
Richard Ellis (
Ellis, 1994a:379–384,
1998a:257–265), and these too have informed the present list. Records which appear in Ellis's 1998 list but are not found in Sweeney & Roper's 2001 list have a citation to
Ellis (1998a)—in the page range 257–265—in the '
Additional references' column of the main table.
The list includes records of giant squid (genus Architeuthis) either supported by a
physical specimen (or parts thereof) or—in the absence of any saved material—where at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: the specimen was examined by an expert prior to disposal and thereby positively identified as a giant squid; a photograph or video recording of the specimen was taken, on the basis of which it was assigned to the genus Architeuthis by a recognised authority; or the record was accepted as being that of a giant squid by a contemporary expert or later authority (whether due to the perceived credibility of the source, the verisimilitude of the account, or for any other reason).
All developmental stages from hatchling to mature adult are included. In the literature there is a single anecdotal account of a giant squid "egg case" (
Gudger, 1953:199;
Lane, 1957:129;
Ellis, 1994a:144), but this is excluded due to a lack of substantiating evidence. Indirect evidence of giant squid (such as
sucker scars found on
sperm whales) falls outside the scope of this list.
According to
Guerra et al. (2006), 592 confirmed giant squid specimens were known as of the end of 2004. Of these, 306 came from the
Atlantic Ocean, 264 from the
Pacific Ocean, 20 from the
Indian Ocean, and 2 from the
Mediterranean Sea. The figures for specimens collected in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans further broke down as follows: 126 in the northwestern Atlantic, 148 in the northeastern Atlantic, 6 in the southwestern Atlantic, 26 in the southeastern Atlantic, 28 in the northwestern Pacific, 43 in the northeastern Pacific, 183 in the southwestern Pacific, and 10 in the southeastern Pacific (
Guerra et al., 2006).
Guerra & González (2009) reported that the total number of recorded giant squid specimens stood at 624.
Guerra et al. (2011) gave an updated figure of 677 specimens (see table below).
Paxton (2016a) put the total at around 700 as of 2015, of which
c. 460 had been measured in some way. This number has increased substantially in recent years, with 57 specimens recorded from the
Sea of Japan over an extraordinary 15-month period in 2014–2015 (beginning with
#518;
Kubodera et al., 2016). The giant squid nevertheless remains a rarely encountered animal, especially considering its large size, with
Ellis (1994a:133) writing that "each giant squid that washes up or is taken from the stomach of a sperm whale is still an occasion for a
teuthological celebration".
Giant squid size—long a subject of both popular debate and academic inquiry (
Ellis, 1998b;
Paxton, 2016a,
b;
Bittel, 2016;
Romanov et al., 2017)—has often been misreported and exaggerated. Reports of specimens reaching or even exceeding 18 m (59 ft) in total length are widespread, but no animals approaching this size have been scientifically documented in recent times, despite the hundreds of specimens available for study. The 55 ft (16.76 m) "
Thimble Tickle specimen" (
#46) reported by
Verrill (1880a:191) is often cited as the largest giant squid ever recorded, and the 55 ft 2 in (16.81 m) specimen described by
Kirk (1888) as Architeuthis longimanus (
#62)—a strangely proportioned animal that has been much commented on[nb 11]—is sometimes cited as the longest (
O'Shea & Bolstad, 2008;
Paxton, 2016a). It is now thought likely that such lengths were achieved by great lengthening of the two long
feeding tentacles, analogous to stretching elastic bands, or resulted from inadequate measurement methods such as pacing (
O'Shea & Bolstad, 2008;
Dery, 2013;
Roper & Shea, 2013:113;
Hanlon & Messenger, 2018:267).
Based on a 40-year data set of more than 50
giant squid (Architeuthis dux) specimens,
Roper & Shea (2013:114) suggest an average total length at maturity of 11 m (36 ft) and a "rarely encountered maximum length" of 14–15 m (46–49 ft). Of the nearly 100 specimens examined by
Clyde Roper, the largest was "46 feet (14 m) long" (
Cerullo & Roper, 2012:22).
O'Shea & Bolstad (2008) give a maximum total length of 13 m (43 ft) for females based on the examination of more than 130 specimens, measured post mortem and relaxed, as well as beaks recovered from
sperm whales (which do not exceed the size of those found in the largest complete specimens).
Steve O'Shea estimated the maximum total length for males at 10 m (33 ft) (
O'Shea, 2003c). Charles G. M. Paxton performed a statistical analysis using literature records of giant squid specimens and concluded that "squid with a conservative TL of 20 m [66 ft] would seem likely based on current data" (
Paxton, 2016a,
b), but the study has been heavily criticised by experts in the field (
Greshko, 2016).
O'Shea & Bolstad (2008) give a maximum
mantle length of 225 cm (7.38 ft) based on the examination of more than 130 specimens, as well as beaks recovered from
sperm whales (which do not exceed the size of those found in the largest complete specimens), though there are recent scientific records of specimens that slightly exceed this size (such as
#362, a 240 cm (7.9 ft) ML female captured off
Tasmania,
Australia, reported by
Landman et al., 2004:686 and cited by
Roper & Shea, 2013:114). Questionable records of up to 500 cm (16 ft) ML can be found in older literature (
Roper & Jereb, 2010:121).
Paxton (2016a) accepts a maximum recorded ML of 279 cm (9.15 ft), based on the
Lyall Bay specimen (
#48) reported by
Kirk (1880:312), but this record has been called into question as the
gladius of this specimen was said to be only 190 cm (6.2 ft) long (
Greshko, 2016).
Including the head and
arms but excluding the
tentacles (standard length, SL), the species very rarely exceeds 5 m (16 ft) according to
O'Shea & Bolstad (2008).
Paxton (2016a) considers 9.45 m (31.0 ft) to be the greatest reliably measured SL, based on a specimen (
#47) reported by
Verrill (1880a:192), and considers specimens of 10 m (33 ft) SL or more to be "very probable", but these conclusions have been criticised by giant squid experts (
Greshko, 2016).
O'Shea (2003c) put the maximum weight of female giant squid at 275 kg (606 lb), based on the examination of some 105 specimens as well as beaks recovered from
sperm whales (which do not exceed the size of those found in the largest complete specimens; some of the heaviest recent specimens include
#465 and
486). Giant squid are
sexually size dimorphic, with the maximum weight for males estimated at 150 kg (330 lb) (
O'Shea, 2003c), though heavier specimens have occasionally been reported (see
#401 for 190 kg (420 lb) specimen).
Roper & Jereb (2010:121) give a maximum weight of up to 500 kg (1,100 lb), and "possibly greater". Discredited weights of as much as a
tonne (2,200 lb) or more
are not uncommon in older literature (see e.g.
#22,
115, and
118;
O'Shea & Bolstad, 2008).
The number below each image corresponds to the specimen or sighting in the
List of giant squid that the image depicts. The date on which the specimen was first captured, found, or observed is also given (the
little-endian day/month/year
date format is used throughout).
#1 (
c. 1546) Japetus Steenstrup's comparison of a squid (centre; its tentacles in an anatomically implausible position) with two 16th century drawings of the "
sea monk of the
Øresund" (
Rondelet's on the left,
Belon's on the right), most probably found in 1546 or slightly earlier
#28 (26/10/1873) The 19-foot (5.8 m) tentacle of the first Architeuthis ever examined on land, hacked off a living animal on 26 October 1873
#29 (25/11?/1873) The mutilated mantle of the specimen from
Logy Bay,
Newfoundland, photographed in Moses Harvey's home (the caudal fin is visible on the right)
#29 (25/11?/1873) The Logy Bay giant squid draped over Reverend
Moses Harvey's sponge bath, November or December 1873
#29 (25/11?/1873) Line drawings taken from two photographs of the Logy Bay specimen. Note that the upper illustration is based on a slightly different frame to the preceding one (as evidenced by the contrasting orientation of the beak and arrangement of arm tips on the lower left, which are closer to those seen in
this version).
#29 (25/11?/1873) A.E. Verrill's reconstruction of "Architeuthis Harveyi", the Logy Bay giant squid
#43 (24/9/1877) Another depiction of the Catalina specimen, showing the animal after it had died
#43 (24/9/1877) J. H. Emerton's drawing of the Catalina giant squid
?#45 (21/11/1877) Giant squid beached on the Newfoundland coast, apparently on 22 November 1877 (closest is
#45 from 21 November, from
Smith's Sound). Note similarity to illustration of Catalina specimen (
#43).
#62 (?/10/1887) T. W. Kirk's sketch of the Architeuthis longimanustype specimen in lateral aspect, from
Kirk (1888). Note the extreme length of the feeding tentacles relative to the mantle and arms.
#68 (18/7/1895) Gladius (internal shell) measuring 39 cm extracted from the same specimen
#69 (10/4/1896) and #70 (27/9/1896) The two largest Norwegian giant squid specimens, measuring 10 and 12 m in total length, were both found washed ashore at
Kyrksæterøra in 1896.
#380 (?/?/1998) First known specimen from the
Mediterranean Sea, on display at the Museo Alborania in
Málaga, Spain. Preserved in formaldehyde, it is an immature female with a mantle length of around 1.25 m.
A small (1 m ML; 30 kg) but fully mature male being examined by
Steve O'Shea on 28 February 1999, during the "In Search of Giant Squid" expedition
Dried giant squid originally measuring 3 m in length
Originating from New Zealand, this giant squid specimen (
#396) measures 27 feet (8.2 m) in total length and is preserved at
Mote Aquarium in
Sarasota, Florida. Nicknamed "Molly the Mollusk", it is one of only a handful of giant squid specimens on public display in the United States.
Notes and references
Explanatory footnotes
^Verrill's marginal annotations read as follows: "Architeuthis monachus (No. 5) Logie Bay, N. Foundland about 1⁄8 natural size between 1⁄8 and 1⁄9. The tub is 38 1⁄2 inches in diameter and circular. Harvey (?) letter. Some of the suckers are broken off on the short arms. They alternate in two regular rows. On the club of the long arm there is a marginal row of small suckers on each side alternating with the large ones. One sucker gone on this long arm." (
Aldrich, 1991:459).
^A small number of naturalists became convinced of the existence of giant cephalopods even prior to Steenstrup's writings, one example being Hamilton Smith,
F.R.S., who examined a beak and other parts of an "enormous
Sepia" preserved at the Museum of Haarlem, now known as
Teylers Museum, and presented his findings to the
British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1841 (
Smith, 1842:73;
Earle, 1977:20).
^Ellis (1998a:86) described Verrill as someone with "an almost limitless capacity for work", who "began publishing papers on these specimens almost as fast as they came in". The full list of Verrill's publications on the Newfoundland strandings of 1870–1881 is as follows:
Verrill 1874a,
b,
1875a,
b,
c,
1876,
1877,
1878,
1880a,
b,
1881a,
b,
1882a,
c.
^The Logy Bay specimen of November 1873 (
#29 on this list) was the first complete giant squid to be photographed (
Offord, 2016;
Keartes, 2016a), albeit in two parts and across two frames (
Aldrich, 1991:458). Although cited by
Aldrich (1991:459) as "the first photographs of an architeuthid in North America", the specimen directly preceding it chronologically (by almost exactly a month;
#28 from Portugal Cove) was also photographed, though here only a severed tentacle—the only part saved—was imaged.
Woodcuts prepared from this latter photograph appeared in a number of periodicals of the time, including The Field and The Annals and Magazine of Natural History (
Harvey, 1874a:68;
Verrill, 1875a:34). The giant squid found beached on
Île Saint-Paul on 2 November 1874 (
#33) was another early specimen to be photographed (
Wright, 1878:329).
^Unconfirmed mass appearances of giant squid include the claim by
Frederick Aldrich that a "school of 60 has been sighted off the coast of Newfoundland" (
Aldrich, 1967b), possibly in reference to
#39.
Richard Ellis noted that Aldrich never repeated this claim in print, "so it is likely that he learned it was not accurately reported" (
Ellis, 1998a:241). Aldrich also told
Clyde Roper that "
Grand Banks fishermen have reported seeing hundreds of giant squid bodies floating on the surface" (
Roper & Shea, 2013:111).
^More than 20 years earlier, in the summer of 1965, Aldrich had enquired about using the recently commissioned manned deep-ocean research submersible
DSV Alvin to study the life habits of the giant squid (including a photo of
#170 with his letter), but the idea never progressed due to funding issues. The original proposal for Aluminaut, another manned submersible launched around the same time as Alvin, also mentioned the giant squid, but this project was never realised either (
Oreskes, 2003:716;
Oreskes, 2014:29).
^A number of photographs of live adult giant squid at the surface off
Okinawa came to light in 2003 (
#449 and
450;
[Anonymous],
c. 2003), but it is uncertain when these were taken (
O'Shea, 2003g;
Eyden, 2006). Another live animal was photographed at the surface in the same area on 15 April 2004 (
#464;
[Anonymous], 2004a).
^An exhaustive list of giant squid that were photographed while still alive would include specimens such as
#515, which was found beached and immobile but "still breathing" (
Scheepers, 2017), and possibly many others. For the sake of brevity, however, only live animals that were photographed or filmed in water—where buoyancy makes their animateness more readily discernible—are listed here.