The earliest known photograph of an intact giant squid, showing the arms, tentacles and buccal region of the head (including beak) of a specimen from Logy Bay, Newfoundland (#30 on this list), draped over Reverend Moses Harvey's sponge bath, November or December 1873. Harvey wrote in his journal: "I knew that I had in my possession what all the savants in the world did not […] what the museums in the world did not contain […] A photograph could not lie and would silence the gainsayers". The photograph includes contemporaneous annotations by zoologist Addison Emery Verrill, including a 1-foot scale bar (top left) and detailed marginal notes.
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.
Tales of giant squid have been common among mariners since ancient times, but the animals were long considered mythical and often associated with the kraken of Nordic legend.[4] The giant squid did not gain widespread scientific acceptance until specimens became available to zoologists in the second half of the 19th century, beginning with the formal naming of Architeuthis dux by Japetus Steenstrup in 1857, from fragmentary Bahamian material collected two years earlier (#14 on this list).[5][nb 2] In the same work, Steenstrup also named a second species, Architeuthis monachus, based on a preserved beak, the only part saved from a carcass that washed ashore in Denmark in 1853 (#13).[19] The giant squid came to public prominence in 1861 when the French corvette Alecton encountered a live animal (#18) at the surface while navigating near Tenerife. A report of the incident filed by the ship's captain[20] was almost certainly seen by Jules Verne and adapted by him for the description of the monstrous squid in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.[3]
The 19-foot (5.8m) tentacle that Newfoundland fisherman Theophilus Picot hacked off a live animal (#29) on 26 October 1873
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).[22] These were meticulously documented in a series of papers by Yale zoologist Addison Emery Verrill.[23][nb 3] Two of these Newfoundland specimens, both from 1873, were particularly significant as they were among the earliest to be photographed: first a single severed tentacle—hacked off a live animal as it "attacked" a fishing boat (#29)[24]—and weeks later an intact animal in two parts (#30).[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.[29] Harvey secured and reported widely on both of these important specimens—as well as numerous others (most notably the Catalina specimen of 1877; #42)—and it was largely through his efforts that giant squid became known to North American and British zoologists.[30][nb 5] 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.[32]
I confess that until I saw and measured this enormous limb, I doubted the accuracy of some early observations which this specimen alone would suffice to prove worthy of confidence. The existence of gigantic cephalopods is no longer an open question. I, now, more than ever, appreciate the value of the adage: "Truth is stranger than fiction."
—Henry Lee, referring to an arm of uncertain provenance (#27) at the British Museum (Natural History) that was examined by him in May 1873, from the concluding lines of his 1875 book The Octopus; or, the "devil-fish" of fiction and of fact.[33]
For a time in the late 19th century, almost every major specimen of which material was saved was described as a new species.[34] In all, some twenty species names were coined.[35] However, there is no widely agreed basis for distinguishing between the named species, and both morphological and genetic data point to the existence of a single, globally distributed species, which according to the principle of priority must be known by the earliest available name: Architeuthis dux.[36]
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 #169).[37] The appearance of specimens around New Zealand has been linked to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, with multiple strandings in the Cook Strait in 1879–1880 (beginning with #47) and 1982–1984 coinciding with or immediately following extreme negative peaks of the Southern Oscillation Index.[38] Although strandings continue to occur sporadically throughout the world, few have been as frequent as those in Newfoundland in the late 19th century.[nb 6] 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 #563).[43]
Though the total number of recorded giant squid specimens now runs into the hundreds, the species remains notoriously elusive and little known. Attempts to capture a glimpse of a live giant squid—described as "the most elusive image in natural history"[44]—were mooted since at least the 1960s.[45] Efforts intensified significantly towards the end of the century, with the launch of several multi-million-dollar expeditions in the late 1990s, though these were all unsuccessful. The first years of the 21st century saw a number of breakthroughs in live giant squid imaging[46] that ultimately culminated in the first recordings of live animals (#548 and 549) in their natural deep-water habitat—from both a remote camera system and a manned submersible—in July 2012.[47] Despite these recent advances and the growing number of both specimens and recordings of live animals, the species continues to occupy a unique place in the public imagination.[48] 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."
Distribution patterns
Locations of the 57 giant squid specimens encountered in the Sea of Japan between January 2014 and March 2015, in what remains the largest mass appearance of this species ever recorded, from Kubodera et al. (2016). The two maps show specimens (numbered chronologically) from the two main stranding events in January–May 2014 (A; spanning #563 to 589) and September 2014–March 2015 (B; spanning #590 to 631).
The vast majority of specimens are of oceanic origin, including marginal seas broadly open to adjacent ocean, especially the Tasman Sea and Sea of Japan, but also the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea,[56] among others. A handful are known from the far western Mediterranean Sea (#383, 447, 498, and 550), but these records do not necessarily indicate that the Mediterranean falls within the natural range of the giant squid, as the specimens may have been transported there by inflowing Atlantic water.[42] Similarly, giant squid are unlikely to naturally occur in the North Sea owing to its shallow depth[42] (but see #107 and 113, the only known English strandings). They are generally absent from equatorial and high polar latitudes[57] (but see #215 and 249 from equatorial Atlantic waters, and specimens from northern Norway[58] or #102 from the edge of the Arctic Circle off western Greenland).
Total number of specimens
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: 148 in the northeastern Atlantic, 126 in the northwestern Atlantic, 26 in the southeastern Atlantic, 6 in the southwestern Atlantic, 43 in the northeastern Pacific, 28 in the northwestern Pacific, 10 in the southeastern Pacific, and 183 in the southwestern Pacific.[59]
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 #563).[53] The giant squid nevertheless remains a rarely encountered animal, especially considering its wide distribution and large size,[60] with Richard Ellis 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".[61]
Giant squid at the surface with an approaching ship in the background, from a painting by Herbert B. Judy, 1905. Specimens found stranded or floating at the surface constitute almost 50% of all records from the Atlantic Ocean (see table).
Records of giant squid specimens sorted by region and method of capture (from Guerra et al., 2011)
"Wanted" poster issued by Frederick Aldrich on 24 August 1988. The flailing giant squid is from an illustration by Canadian wildlife artist Glen Loates, known for his naturalistic depictions of "Architeuthis in action", which were based on collaborations with Aldrich and which Richard Ellis described as "certainly the most accurate and exciting depictions of the monster ever drawn".
Procurement, preservation, and display
Preserved giant squid specimens are much sought after for both study and display.[65] In the mid-1960s, marine biologist and giant squid expert Frederick Aldrich of the Memorial University of Newfoundland organised a "squid squad" with the intent of securing specimens for study. In the 1980s, Aldrich resorted to distributing eye-catching "Wanted" posters offering rewards for "finding and holding" specimens stranded on the Newfoundland coast, "the value being dependent on their condition".[66]Aldrich (1991:459) wrote that "[s]uch efforts were not futile, for in the intervening years I have secured either the specimens or information on 15 animals", though according to Hoff (2003:85) the rewards went unclaimed. Largely through Aldrich's efforts, the Marine Sciences Research Laboratory at Logy Bay, Newfoundland, assembled a substantial early collection of giant squid; as of 1971, it held 8 specimens, with the remains of 3 displayed together in a tank by the main entrance.[67]
Guerra et al. (2011:1990) estimated that around 30 giant squid were exhibited at museums and aquaria worldwide, while Guerra & Segonzac (2014:118–119) provided an updated list of 35 (21 in national museums and 14 in private institutions; see table below). The purpose-built Museo del Calamar Gigante in Luarca, Spain, had by far the largest collection on public display (4 females and 1 male[68]), but many of the museum's 14 or so total specimens were destroyed during a storm on 2 February 2014.[69] At least 13 specimens were exhibited in Japan as of February 2017, of which 10 had been acquired since 2013.[70]
A number of fragmentary giant squid remains were displayed as part of "In Search of Giant Squid", a Smithsonian travelling exhibition curated by Clyde Roper that visited a dozen US museums and other educational institutions between September 2004 and August 2009.[71] The exhibition opened its national tour at Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History, which has maintained a strong association with the giant squid from the time of the Newfoundland strandings in the 1870s. Preparations for the Peabody exhibition, overseen by site curator Eric Lazo-Wasem, uncovered giant squid material in the museum's collections that was not previously known to be extant, including original specimens from Addison Emery Verrill's time.[72]
Architeuthis is an elusive creature. Its occasional appearance on various beaches around the world has provided hardly more than a glimpse of its majestic and intimidating appearance, and hauling it out of the water in a trawl does it no justice either. Papier-mâché or fiberglass models have given us a sense of its size and shape, but they have not captured its mystery and vitality. The spirit of Architeuthis may well be uncapturable; at least no museum has even come close to this fabulous creature—the only living animal for which the term sea monster is truly applicable.
—Richard Ellis, from the closing remarks of his 1997 article "The models of Architeuthis"[73]
In the late 19th century, the giant squid's popular appeal and desirability to museums—but scarcity of preserved specimens—spawned a long tradition of "life-sized" models that continues to the present day.[74] Verrill's description of the famous Catalina specimen of 1877 (#42), which he personally examined in New York City the same year, served as the basis for the earliest models.[75][nb 7] The second Portugal Cove specimen, from 1881 (#60), was probably also used as a reference, as it was seen by Verrill shortly before he began modelling.[78] Following Verrill's design, his draughtsman James Henry Emerton built the very first giant squid model for the Peabody Museum of Natural History in 1883.[79] A second, near-identical model was soon delivered to the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, and a third was made for the International Fisheries Exhibition, held in London in 1883.[80] The Verrill and Emerton models were followed by six similar examples, again based on the Catalina specimen, produced by Ward's Natural Science Establishment of Rochester, New York, of which two were sold internationally: to London's Natural History Museum and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.[81] The original Peabody Museum model was discarded around 1964 and replaced two years later by one based on both the Logy Bay specimen of 1873 (#30) and on several Newfoundland specimens from the 1960s,[82] particularly the one found off Conche in October 1964 (#169).[83]
Real giant squid specimens have traditionally been preserved in either solutions of alcohols (particularly ethanol and isopropyl alcohol) or in formalin. More recently, concerns about the fire and health risks posed by these substances[nb 8] have led to alternative preservative fluids being explored, such as propylene glycol (#254), glycerol (#495), and the hydrofluoroetherNovec 7100.[84] Additionally, methods such as plastination have made it possible to display authentic giant squid specimens in a dry state. A giant squid was first plastinated in 2000 and this specimen, nicknamed "Wheke" (#429), has been on display at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris since 2008; two further specimens were plastinated in 2004,[85] as were various parts of a 2015 specimen from Japan (#609). Several other individuals have been prepared for display by more conventional drying methods, such as hard curing (e.g. #598, 603, and 617), though this necessarily results in greatly shrunken specimens. At least one giant squid has been entirely embedded in acrylic, a process that rendered its flesh translucent (#632). Beginning in 2005, a specimen nicknamed "Cal" (#495) was uniquely displayed at Melbourne Aquarium encased in a 3.5-tonne block of ice (reportedly the largest man-made ice block in the world); it was turned into a conventional wet specimen several years later. Additionally, a number of other specimens have been temporarily placed on public display in a frozen or chilled state (e.g. #564, 585, 592, 603, 662, 669, 675, 677, 679, and 680).
Giant squid found at Ranheim in Trondheimsfjord, Norway, on 2 October 1954 (#136), being examined by Professors Erling Sivertsen and Svein Haftorn. This specimen measured 9.24m in total length and had a mantle length of 1.79m.
Giant squid size—long a subject of both popular debate and academic inquiry[86]—has often been misreported and exaggerated. Reports of specimens reaching or even exceeding 18m (59ft) in total length are widespread,[nb 9] but no animals approaching this size have been scientifically documented in recent times, despite the hundreds of specimens available for study. The 55ft (16.76m) "Thimble Tickle specimen" (#45) reported by Verrill (1880a:191) is often cited as the largest giant squid ever recorded,[nb 10] and the 55ft 2in (16.81m) (or 57ft[17.37m]) specimen described by Kirk (1888) as Architeuthis longimanus (#62)—a strangely proportioned animal that has been much commented on—is sometimes cited as the longest.[89] 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.[90]
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 (TL) at maturity of 11m (36ft) and a "rarely encountered maximum length" of 14–15m (46–49ft). Of the nearly 100 specimens examined by Clyde Roper, the largest was "46 feet (14m) long".[91]O'Shea & Bolstad (2008) give a maximum total length of 13m (43ft) 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 10m (33ft).[92]Yukhov (2014:242) gives a maximum total length of 11.8m (39ft) for the species, based on records from the southern hemisphere; Remeslo (2011) gives 13.1m (43ft). McClain et al. (2015) regard a 12-metre (39ft) specimen from Asturias, Spain (#480), as the "longest scientifically verified" and "largest recorded and well-preserved specimen in the contemporary, peer-reviewed literature". Charles G. M. Paxton performed a statistical analysis using literature records of giant squid specimens and concluded that "squid with a conservative TL of 20m[66ft] would seem likely based on current data",[93] but the study has been heavily criticised by experts in the field.[94]
Frequency distribution of total length, mantle length, and mass in Architeuthis dux, from McClain et al. (2015) (see also linear regressions). The 2,000lb (910kg) extreme outlier (#22) is from an estimate mentioned in Verrill (1880a:181) and is unlikely to be accurate; the next most massive individual in the data set was only 700lb (320kg) and 95% of specimens were below 250kg (550lb). Similarly, 95% of individuals had recorded mantle lengths below 3.26m (10.7ft) and total lengths below 15.26m (50.1ft).
O'Shea & Bolstad (2008) give a maximum mantle length (ML) of 225cm (7.38ft) 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 #371, a 240cm (7.9ft) ML female captured off Tasmania, Australia; see also #647, with an estimated 2.15–3.06m ML). Remeslo (2011) and Yukhov (2014:248) give a maximum mantle length of 260cm (8.5ft) for females from southern waters. Questionable records of up to 500cm (16ft) ML can be found in older literature.[96]Paxton (2016a) accepts a maximum recorded ML of 279cm (9.15ft), based on the Lyall Bay specimen (#47) reported by Kirk (1880:312), but this record has been called into question as the gladius of this specimen (which should approximate the mantle length) was said to be only 190cm (6.2ft) long.[94]
Including the head and arms but excluding the tentacles (standard length), the species very rarely exceeds 5m (16ft) according to O'Shea & Bolstad (2008). Paxton (2016a) considers 9.45m (31.0ft) to be the greatest reliably measured SL, based on a specimen (#46) reported by Verrill (1880a:192), and considers specimens of 10m (33ft) SL or more to be "very probable", but these conclusions have been criticised by giant squid experts.[94]
O'Shea (2003b) put the maximum weight of female giant squid at 275kg (606lb), 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 #491 and 524). Giant squid are sexually size dimorphic, with the maximum weight for males estimated at 150kg (330lb),[92] though heavier specimens have occasionally been reported (see #412 for a 190kg (420lb) specimen). Similarly, Remeslo (2011) and Yukhov (2014:248) give maximum masses of 250–260kg (550–570lb) and 150kg (330lb) for females and males, respectively, based on records from southern latitudes. Roper & Jereb (2010:121) give a maximum weight of up to 500kg (1,100lb), and "possibly greater". Discredited weights of as much as a tonne (2,200lb) or more are not uncommon in older literature (see e.g. #22, 114, and 117).[97]
Undoubtedly several imperfectly distinguished forms have been included in the earlier anecdotal records of Architeuthis. Moreover, specimens of Architeuthis (the Giant Squid par excellence), the smaller Sthenoteuthis, and possibly Ommatostrephes have been indiscriminately described as "Giant Squids."
—Guy Coburn Robson, from his description of Architeuthis clarkei, a species he erected in 1933 based on a carcass (#107) that washed ashore in Scarborough, England, earlier that year[99]
The taxonomy of the giant squid genus Architeuthis has not been entirely resolved. Lumpers and splitters may propose as many as eight species or as few as one, with most authors recognising either one cosmopolitan species (A.dux) or three geographically disparate species: A.dux from the Atlantic, A.martensi from the North Pacific, and A.sanctipauli from the Southern Ocean.[100] Historically, some twenty species names (not counting new combinations) and eight genus names have been applied to architeuthids (see Type specimens).[35] No genetic or physical basis for distinguishing between the named species has been proposed,[101] though specimens from the North Pacific do not appear to reach the maximum dimensions seen in giant squid from other areas.[102] There may also be regional differences in the relative proportions of the tentacles and their sucker counts.[103] The mitogenomic analysis of Winkelmann et al. (2013) supports the existence of a single, globally distributed species (A.dux).[104] The same conclusion was reached by Förch (1998) on the basis of morphological data.
Michael J. Sweeney (left) and Clyde F. E. Roper (center) with a giant squid (#240) being prepared for display at the National Museum of Natural History in 1983. Sweeney compiled the list on which the present one is based; Roper, one of the foremost experts on Architeuthis, wrote its introduction.
Earlier efforts to compile a list of all known giant squid encounters throughout history include those of marine writer and artist Richard Ellis.[109] Ellis's first list, published as an appendix to his 1994 work Monsters of the Sea, was probably the first such compilation to appear in print and was described in the book's table of contents as "the most complete and accurate list of the historical sightings and strandings of Architeuthis ever attempted".[110] Ellis's much-expanded second list, an appendix to his 1998 book The Search for the Giant Squid, comprised 166 entries spanning four and a half centuries, from 1545 to 1996.[111] 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.[nb 12]
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 for any other reason, such as the perceived credibility of the source or the verisimilitude of the account.
Nineteenth century engraving by W. A. Cranston of a giant squid attacking a boat (see #29). Only sightings deemed authentic by published experts are included in the list.
Purported sightings of giant squid lacking both physical and documentary evidence and expert appraisal are generally excluded, with the exception of those appearing in the lists of Ellis (1994a:379–384), Ellis (1998a:257–265), or Sweeney & Roper (2001) (see e.g. "attacks" of #32 and 106).[nb 13] In particular, "sea monster" sightings—many of which have been attributed to giant squid by various authors—fall short of this standard.[nb 14]Compositing and other forms of photo manipulation have been used to perpetrate hoaxes involving giant squid and these are occasionally circulated as records of actual news events, often accompanied by fictional background stories.[162] Such records are likewise excluded, as are speculative misidentifications with no scientific basis.[163]
The earliest surviving records of very large squid date to classical antiquity and the writings of Aristotle, Pliny the Elder,[164] and possibly Antipater of Sidon.[165] But in the absence of detailed descriptions or surviving remains, it is not possible to assign these to the giant squid genus Architeuthis with any confidence, and they are therefore not included in this list (in any case, giant squid records from the Mediterranean are exceedingly rare). Basque and Portuguesecod fishermen observed what were likely giant squid carcasses in the waters of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland as early as the 16th century,[166] but conclusive evidence is similarly lacking. The earliest specimens identifiable as true giant squid are generally accepted to be ones from the early modern period in the 17th and 18th centuries,[167] and possibly as far back as the 16th century (#1).[168]
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",[169] but this is excluded due to a lack of substantiating evidence (see misidentification #[9] for possible egg mass later determined to be that of the arrow squid, Nototodarus gouldi). Indirect evidence of giant squid—such as sucker scars found on sperm whales—falls outside the scope of this list.
Records are listed chronologically in ascending order and numbered accordingly. This numbering is not meant to be definitive but rather to provide a convenient means of referring to individual records. Specimens incorrectly assigned to the genus Architeuthis are counted separately, their numbers enclosed in square brackets, and are highlighted in pink (). Records that cover multiple whole specimens, or remains necessarily originating from multiple individuals (e.g. two lower beaks), have the 'Material cited' cell highlighted in grey (). Animals that were photographed or filmed while alive (all from the 21st century) have the 'Nature of encounter' cell highlighted in yellow (). Where a record falls into more than one of these categories, a combination of shadings is used. Where an image of a specimen is available, this is indicated by a camera symbol (📷) that links to the image.
Giant squid (Architeuthis dux), modified from an illustration by Addison Emery Verrill (Verrill, 1880a: pl. 20; based on #42), showing the exceptionally long feeding tentacles, which are often missing or damaged in recovered specimens. Some of the more extreme published giant squid measurements have been attributed to artificial lengthening of these tentacles. Almost the entire bulk of the animal—that is, the mantle, head, and arms—takes up less than half of its total length; the absence of the tentacles, therefore, has a great effect on the animal's total length but very little on its mass.
Date – Date on which the specimen was first captured, found, or observed. Where this is unknown, the date on which the specimen was first reported is listed instead and noted as such. All times are local.
Location – Area where the specimen was encountered, including coordinates and depth information where available. Given as it appears in the cited reference(s), except where additional information is provided in square brackets. The quadrant of a major ocean in which the specimen was found is given in curly brackets (e.g. {NEA}; see Oceanic sectors).
Nature of encounter – Circumstances in which the specimen was recovered or observed. Given as they appear in the cited reference(s), although "washed ashore" encompasses all stranded animals.
Identification – Species- or genus-level taxon to which the specimen was assigned. Given as it appears in the cited reference(s). Listed chronologically if specimen was re-identified. These designations are primarily of historical interest as most authorities now recognise a single species of giant squid: Architeuthis dux. Where only a vernacular name has been applied to the specimen (e.g. "giant squid" or a non-English equivalent), this is given instead.
Material cited – Original specimen material that was recovered or observed. "Entire" encompasses all more-or-less complete specimens. Names of anatomical features are retained from original sources (e.g. "jaws" may be given instead of the preferred "beak", or "body" instead of "mantle"). The specimen's state of preservation is also given, where known, and any missing parts enumerated (the tentacles, arm tips, reddish skin and eyes are the parts most often missing in stranded specimens, owing to their delicate nature and/or preferential targeting by scavengers).
Material saved – Material that was kept after examination and not discarded (if any). Information may be derived from outdated sources; material may no longer be extant even if stated as such.
Sex – Sex and sexual maturity of the specimen.
Size and measurements – Data relating to measurements and counts. Abbreviations used are based on standardised acronyms in teuthology (see Measurements), with the exception of several found in older references. Measurements are given as they appear in the cited reference(s), with both arithmetic precision and original units preserved (metricconversions are shown alongside imperial measurements), though some of the more extreme lengths and weights found in older literature have since been discredited.
Repository – Institution in which the specimen material is deposited (based on cited sources; may not be current), including accession numbers where available. Institutional acronyms are those defined by Leviton et al. (1985) and Leviton & Gibbs (1988) (see Repositories). Where the acronym is unknown, the full repository name is listed. Type specimens, such as holotypes or syntypes, are identified as such in boldface. If an author has given a specimen a unique identifying number (e.g. Verrill specimen No. 28), this is included as well, whether or not the specimen is extant.
Main references – The most important sources, typically ones that provide extensive data and/or analysis on a particular specimen (often primary sources). Presented in author–date parenthetical referencing style, with page numbers included where applicable (those in square brackets refer either to unpaginated works or English translations of originally non-English works; see Full citations). Only the first page of relevant coverage is given, except where this is discontinuous. Any relevant figures ("figs.") and plates ("pls.") are enumerated.
Additional references – References of lesser importance or primacy, either because they provide less substantive information on a given record (often secondary sources), or else because they are not easily obtainable or possibly even extant (e.g. old newspaper articles, personal correspondence, and television broadcasts) but nonetheless mentioned in more readily accessible published works (see Full citations).
Notes – Miscellaneous information, often including persons and vessels involved in the specimen's recovery and subsequent handling, and any dissections, preservation work or scientific analyses carried out on the specimen. Where animals have been recorded while alive this is also noted. Material not referable to the genus Architeuthis, as well as specimens on public display, are both highlighted in bold (as "Non-architeuthid" and "On public display", respectively), though the latter information may no longer be current.
The total number of giant squid records listed across this page and successive lists is 714, though the number of individual animals covered is greater (the additional number exceeding 250) as some records encompass multiple specimens (indicated in grey). Additionally, 13 records relate to specimens misidentified as giant squid (indicated in pink).
Original Icelandic account is from the contemporaneous Annálar Björns á Skarðsá and has been translated into English.[nb 17] Crude drawing of animal mentioned by Eggert Ólafsson was lost with most of his books when his boat capsized off Iceland in 1768, leading to his death.[185] Identified by Japetus Steenstrup as decapodcephalopod in 1849.
Found by James Steward. Original material relating to this specimen consists of: a broadsheet printed in London with three letters (two from Thomas Hooke and one from Thomas Clear) together with a description and illustration;[188] a fourth letter in manuscript;[189] a broadsheet printed in Dublin to be distributed as a handbill;[190] and an eight-page booklet printed in London with a woodcut reproduction of the illustration in the broadsheet (both originating from a painting on canvas brought to London, as it was impossible to preserve the carcass).[191]
Found during George Cartwright's sixth and final voyage to Newfoundland and Labrador. Spotted at 10am surrounded by birds. Head broke off during retrieval. Described as "a large squid [...] when gutted, the body filled a pork barrel, and the whole of it would have filled a tierce".
"longest tentacula": >3 fathoms (5.5m); "body right from the head": 3.5 fathoms (6.4m); "so thick that a fullgrown man could hardly embrace it with his arms"
Péron (1807:216) wrote: "it rolled with noise in the midst of the waves, and its long arms, stretched out on their surface, stirred like so many enormous reptiles" (translated from the French).
Found at surface in calm weather. Quoy & Gaimard (1824:411) opined: "it is easy to imagine that one of these terrible molluscs could readily remove a man from a fairly large boat, but not a medium-tonnage vessel, still less tilting this vessel and endangering it, as some would like to believe" (translated from the French).
ZMUC catalog no. CEP-97 (or CEP-000097) and NHMD-77320 (multiple parts, each in its own glass vessel: gladius, mouthparts, part of arm, several suckers, and what may be hectocotylus);[195]holotype of Architeuthis dux Steenstrup, 1857;[192] ZMB Moll. 34798 (single sucker); piece of limb in Bergen Museum[198]
Obtained by Capt. Vilhelm Hygom. Japetus Steenstrup donated single sucker to Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, which was incorporated into collection in 1883 according to catalogue entry. Preserved in 70% ethanol.[195]
Jaws at NMNH[208] (no longer extant?[209]); lower jaw is syntype of Architeuthis princeps Verrill, 1875b; Verrill specimen No. 1 ("Grand Banks specimen" [1st])
Specimen had a reddish colour. Verrill's data taken from newspaper accounts and 15/VI/1873 T.R. Bennett letter to Prof. Baird. Verrill (1880a:186) states his No. 6 is same specimen as No. 3; this cannot be correct, since capture date for No. 6 is clearly stated as December 1874 by Verrill (1875c:213).[209]
Presented by Capt. N.E. Atwood of Provincetown, Massachusetts to EI;[211] PASS;[201]syntype of Architeuthis princeps Verrill, 1875b; Verrill specimen No. 10 ("Sperm-whale specimen")
"No history relating to it has been preserved", but first examined by Henry Lee in May 1873, having been in BMNH collections for "long" time.[33] Bore c. 300 suckers.
ZMB Moll. 34716 + 38980; holotype of Megateuthis martensii Hilgendorf, 1880 [34716a: eyeball, 200mm diameter, dry; 34716b: pieces of arm and gladius, suckers; 34716c: larger piece of arm with suckers; 38980: four suckers from holotype arm piece]
Second specimen from Tokyo fishmarket seen by Franz Martin Hilgendorf and used for description of gladius. Of other specimen, Hilgendorf saved "parts of an arm, the covering of the eye, and a fragment of the gladius" ("Theile eines Armes, die Hüllen des Auges, und ein Bruchstück des Schulpes").[217] Model of specimen placed in Exhibition of Fishery in Berlin.
Megaloteuthis harveyi Kent, 1874; Architeuthis monachus of Steenstrup;[218]?Architeuthis harveyi[219]
Entire
One tentacle; one arm discarded
(see Verrill, 1880a:220) TL: 19ft (5.8m) [incomplete; total estimated at 35ft (11m) with ≈10ft (3.0m) left attached to body and 6ft (1.8m) subsequently destroyed]; TC: 3.5in (8.9cm) [stalk; club 6in (15cm)]; TSD: 1.25in (3.2cm); additional measurements based on photograph;[218] additional club measurement from Harvey letter;[220] BL: ≈10ft (3.0m); EL: ≈60ft (18m) [estimate]; AL: 6ft (1.8m); AD: 10in (25cm); TSC: ≈180; beak as large "as a six-gallon keg"; "tail" 10ft (3.0m) across[221]
YPM?; holotype of Megaloteuthis harveyi Kent, 1874; Verrill specimen No. 2 ("Conception Bay specimen")
Struck by Theophilus Picot from boat whereupon it "attacked" the boat; veracity of account has been questioned.[nb 18] Severed tentacle purchased by Moses Harvey for NF$10 (equivalent to US$237 in 2023)[25] and preserved in alcohol;[223] exhibited at Alexander Murray's geological museum in St. John's (a forerunner of the Newfoundland Museum, itself now part of The Rooms),[224] where it remained as of 1883.[225] Famed naturalist Louis Agassiz showed great interest in the specimen, writing: "It is truly important for the history of cephalopods"; his final scientific letters (he died on 14 December 1873) concerned the possibility of examining its remains.[226] Served as a reference for the earliest known "life-sized" giant squid cutout, from the 1870s.[nb 7] Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as the "longest visually estimated" total length of any giant squid specimen. Encounter dramatised in episode of 1998 documentary series The X Creatures;[227] fictionalised in The Adventures of Billy Topsail (1906) by Norman Duncan[228] and The Kraken (1995) by Don C. Reed.[229][nb 19] A similar event is portrayed in The Shipping News (1993) by E. Annie Proulx.[231]
Verrill's data from letter to Dr. Dawson from Moses Harvey. Harvey purchased specimen for NF$10 (equivalent to US$237 in 2023).[25] Photographs made of a) entire body, somewhat mutilated anteriorly; b) head and 10 limbs. Poorly preserved; first in brine, then in alcohol. Capture date given as December several times, then as November several times, and as 25 November by Aldrich (1991:457). Served as a reference for the earliest known "life-sized" giant squid cutout, from the 1870s.[nb 7] Verrill's description served as the basis for the "life-sized" model that now hangs at the Peabody Museum of Natural History (YPM IZ 104471), built in 1966,[232] though it was also based on several Newfoundland specimens from the 1960s.[233] Specimen and famous photograph of it draped over Harvey's shower curtain rod were subject of Preparing the Ghost (2014), a work of creative nonfiction by Matthew Gavin Frank.[234]
SchoonerPearl (150 tons) with crew of six, including captain James Floyd, supposedly sunk by giant squid. Incident reportedly seen from passenger steamer Strathowen, bound from Colombo to Madras, which rescued five of the crew. Veracity of account has been questioned,[235] though taken seriously by Frederick Aldrich.[236] Fictionalised in Don C. Reed's 1995 novel The Kraken.[237]
Data from 10/XII/1873 letter from Mr. Harvey to unknown individual citing measurements taken by G. Simms; Pfeffer (1912:21). Measurements are given differently in different papers. Verrill (1880a:186) and Verrill (1882c:10) states his No. 6 is same specimen as No. 3; this cannot be correct, as capture date for No. 6 is clearly stated as December 1874 by Verrill (1875c:213).[239]Verrill (1880a:188, pl. 17) repeats record as his No. 13.
Found immobile at surface; attacked and chased by fishermen; arms successively hacked off and eventually killed
Architeuthis monachus; Architeuthis dux Steenstrup, 1857[241]
Entire
Beak and buccal mass, one arm ("much mutilated and decayed", missing horny rings), portions of both tentacles ("shrunk and distorted", missing horny rings on large central club suckers); head, eyes and second arm initially saved, but soon lost/destroyed
On public display. Caught by three-man longline fishing crew of currach ("curragh") for use as bait for coarse fish. Found motionless at surface surrounded by gulls, becoming active upon being attacked by fishermen, swimming away "at a tremendous rate" and releasing ink. Progressively disabled with a knife (fishermen having no gaff or spare rope) as chased for 2 hours over 5 miles (8.0km), before head eventually severed; heavy mantle allowed to sink. Specimen secured and preserved by Sergeant Thomas O'Connor of the Royal Irish Constabulary and forwarded by him to the museum of the Royal Dublin Society, Dublin (now the National Museum of Ireland – Natural History).
An unusual number (≈25–30) of mostly dead giant squid found by Gloucester, Massachusetts fishermen, with similar number estimated to have been obtained by vessels from other areas. Data from Capt. J.W. Collins of the United States Fish Commission, who at the time of the incident commanded schooner Howard, which collected five specimens. Other involved vessels included schooner Sarah P. Ayer (Capt. Oakley), which took 1–2 specimens; E. R. Nickerson (Capt. McDonald), which harpooned one (No. 26) with intact arms that was "not entirely dead"; and schooner Tragabigzanda (Capt. Mallory), which took three in one afternoon. Some fishermen stated that such "big squids" were also common at the Flemish Cap during the same season. Verrill conjectured that this mass mortality might have been due to an outbreak of disease or parasites, and/or related to their reproductive cycle.
Measured fresh by M. Harvey; examined preserved (poorly) by Verrill at New York Aquarium. Later "prepared" for exhibition by taxidermist. Served as the basis for the earliest "life-sized" giant squid models, including the original three made by Verrill and J. H. Emerton and six subsequent ones by Ward's.[75] Described by Frederick Aldrich as "largest giant squid to be encountered in Newfoundland".[126]
M. Harvey letter 27 November 1877 to Verrill citing measurements taken by John Duffet; Frost (1934:102)
Found still alive, having "ploughed up a trench or furrow about 30 feet [9.1m] long and of considerable depth by the stream of water that it ejected with great force from its siphon. When the tide receded it died."
On public display. Collected by Capt. Charles Hayward (Catlins Riverharbourmaster, 1872–1887). Acquired in 1878 by Capt. Frederick Wollaston Hutton, first curator of Otago Museum, according to museum records; rediscovered and publicised in 2021.[243] Placed on display in Animal Attic gallery.[245] Mantle and total length estimated by teuthologist Kat Bolstad based on beak measurements.[244]
Discovered by fisherman Stephen Sherring and two others.[nb 21] Often cited as the largest recorded giant squid specimen, and long treated as such by Guinness.[nb 22] Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as candidate for "longest measured" total length of any giant squid specimen (together with #62, and less reliably #209). Giant Squid Interpretation Centre and "life-sized", 55-foot sculpture built near site of capture;[263] sculpture appeared on Canadian postage stamp issued in 2011[264] and has associated annual festival.[265]
Found dead by fisherman William Budgell after heavy gale. Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as the "longest measured" standard length of any giant squid specimen.
Measurements taken by T.W. Kirk. Has been called the "largest specimen recorded in the scientific literature" based on erroneous total length of "approximately 20m",[268] itself based on claim by Roper & Boss (1982:104) relating to unspecified specimen "stranded on a beach in New Zealand in 1880 [sic]". Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as the longest reliably measured mantle length of any giant squid specimen (less reliably that of #104), but measurement considered dubious by experts due to wide discrepancy with reported gladius length.[94][nb 23]
Found dead by Capt. O.A. Whitten of schooner Wm.H. Oakes. Arm and sucker regeneration documented by Verrill (1881b:260); one of two published records of limb regeneration in architeuthids (as identified by Imperadore & Fiorito, 2018), the other being a case of tentacle regeneration in #169 (see also #549).
Obtained by Mr. Morris, photographed by E. Lyons (St. John's), shipped on ice by steamer Catima to New York, purchased and preserved by E.M. Worth. Measurements by a) Inspector Murphy (chief Board of Public Works) when iced; b) Verrill of fixed specimen. An 1881 specimen from Portugal Cove with a "body" reportedly 11ft (3.4m) long, mentioned in The Evening Telegram of St. John's (21 December 1933)[140] and cited by Frost (1934:103), presumably refers to the same animal. May have served as a reference for Verrill and J. H. Emerton's original three "life-sized" giant squid models (and six subsequent ones by Ward's), as Verrill saw the specimen shortly before he began modelling.[78]
Moses Harvey only learned of specimens after their destruction. Information sourced from clippings found in one of Harvey's scrapbooks preserved at Newfoundland Public Archives (PG/A/17).[207]
Strangely proportioned animal that has been much commented on; sometimes cited as the longest giant squid specimen ever recorded.[272][nb 24] Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as candidate for "longest measured" total length of any giant squid specimen (together with #45, and less reliably #209). Found by Mr. Smith, local fisherman. Measurements taken by T.W. Kirk. Date found listed incorrectly in Dell (1952:98).[273]
Bergen Museum notified of find by Lorentz Pettersen of Sjona, Helgeland. Failure to secure remains prompted museum to issue notice in June 1890 issue of Naturen seeking specimens in future (which would be first for a Norwegian museum) and offering to cover all associated transportation and packing costs in addition to regular compensation.[275]
Moses Harvey only learned of specimen after its destruction. Information sourced from clippings found in one of Harvey's scrapbooks preserved at Newfoundland Public Archives (PG/A/17).[207]
Non-architeuthid.On public display. First noted by Carl Eduard von Martens in November 1894. Exhibited at Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin from 1897 to World War II, and again from c. 1945–50, when it was housed in main entrance hall in large glass cylinder on marble pedestal.
more
From December 1975, displayed as part of "Meeresungeheuer" exhibit at German Maritime Museum in Stralsund, on loan from ZMB. Return to museum noted in February 1992, when it was placed in new purpose-built container and displayed in Malacological Collection. Incorrectly identified by Kilias (1967:491) as Architeuthis in figure legend, with total length given as ≈2m (illustration removed in later edition[280]). Specimen cast in 1997–98 for creation of 8.5-m-long plastic "giant squid" model, exhibited since 1998 at Übersee-Museum Bremen with sperm whale skull. Re-identified as Dosidicus gigas in June 1998 by Mario Alejandro Salcedo-Vargas. Internal parts apparently removed when specimen originally dissected by Martens or prepared for exhibition (1894–97).
(#22 and 26) NMNH? [not found in collections to date]; Syntypes (a) Verrill specimen No. 1, lower beak; b) Verrill specimen No. 10, upper and lower beak)
Abbreviations used for measurements and counts follow Sweeney & Roper (2001) and are based on standardised acronyms in teuthology, primarily those defined by Roper & Voss (1983), with the exception of several found in older references. Following Sweeney & Roper (2001), the somewhat non-standard EL ("entire" length) and WL ("whole" length) are used in place of the more common TL (usually total length; here tentacle length) and SL (usually standard length; here spermatophore length), respectively.
AC, arm circumference (AC(I), AC(II), AC(III) and AC(IV) refer to measurements of specific arm pairs)
AD, arm diameter (AD(I), AD(II), AD(III) and AD(IV) refer to measurements of specific arm pairs)
AF, arm formula
AL, arm length (AL(I), AL(II), AL(III) and AL(IV) refer to measurements of specific arm pairs)
ASC, arm sucker count
ASD, arm sucker diameter
BAC, buccal apparatus circumference
BAL, buccal apparatus length
BC, body circumference (assumed to mean greatest circumference of mantle unless otherwise specified)
BD, body diameter (assumed to mean greatest diameter of mantle)
BL, body length (usually equivalent to mantle length, as head length is often given separately)
CaL, carpus length
CL, club length (usually refers to expanded portion at the apex of tentacle)
CSC, club sucker count
CSD, club sucker diameter (usually largest) [usually equivalent to LSD]
EL, "entire" length (end of tentacle(s), often stretched, to posterior tip of tail; in contrast to WL, measured from end of arms to posterior tip of tail)
NMSZ, National Museum of Scotland, Zoology Department, Edinburgh, Scotland (formerly Royal Museum of Scotland; formerly Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh)
NMV, Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (formerly National Museum of Victoria)
The following images relate to pre–20th century giant squid specimens and sightings. The number below each image corresponds to that given in the List of giant squid table and is linked to the relevant record therein. The date on which the specimen was first documented is also given (the little-endian day/month/year date format is used throughout).
#1 (c. 1546) Painted woodcuts of the sea monk (#1; left) and sea bishop (the latter also thought by some to be based on a giant squid[299]), issued in 1669 and based on Conrad Gessner's originals from 1558 (themselves based on Rondelet's).
#16 (≤1860) Beak with associated buccal musculature, radula, and loose suckers of the type specimen of Loligo (later Architeuthis) hartingii, the provenance of which is unknown (Harting, 1860:pl. 1)
#18 (30/11/1861) Another depiction of the encounter, by Édouard Riou (credited in caption) and A. Etherington (signed), based on a sketch by ensign E. Rodolphe, an officer on the Alecton. This engraving appeared in Bouyer (1866:276, fig.) and subsequently featured in other publications, including an 1867 issue of the Dutch travel magazine De Aarde en haar Volken (from which the present image was extracted).
#18 (30/11/1861) An illustration of the Alecton encounter from Les Animaux Excentriques by Henri Coupin[fr], first published in 1903, based on the original from Bouyer (here given as "Rouyer").
#[1] (1870?) Anatomical details of the squid that washed ashore in Nova Scotia, Canada, around 1870. It was originally described as Architeuthis megaptera and later identified as Sthenoteuthis pteropus. Shown are the mantle (fig. 1), teeth of the radula and palate (figs. 2–7), and arm and tentacle suckers (figs. 8–9) (Verrill, 1880a:pl. 21).
#25 (?/12/1872), #30 (25/11?/1873), and one other Anatomical details of Verrill specimen No. 4 from 1872 (#25; tentacular sucker and closeup of same: figs. 5–6) and Verrill specimen No. 5 from 1873 (#30; lining membrane of palate: fig. 1; caudal fins: fig. 2; tentacular suckers: fig. 3; arm sucker: fig. 4) (Verrill, 1880a:pl. 16). Also shown are radular teeth of Loligo pallida (synonym of Doryteuthis pealeii; fig. 7) and giant squid specimen #16, redrawn from Harting (1860:pl. 1 fig. 4) (fig. 8).
#27 (≤1873) The type specimen of Plectoteuthis grandis, consisting of a single arm (Owen, 1881:pl. 34). The provenance of this material is uncertain, but it may originate from the east coast of South America.[33]
#29 (26/10/1873) The Adventure of the Giant Squid, painted by N. C. Wyeth c. 1939 to illustrate Norman Duncan's The Adventures of Billy Topsail (1906)[228] as republished in Anthology of Children's Literature (1940).[303] The story includes a fictionalised encounter with a giant squid based on the widely reported first Portugal Cove specimen.
#30 (25/11?/1873) The mutilated mantle of the specimen from Logy Bay, photographed in Moses Harvey's home (the caudal fin is visible on the right). This original photograph appears not to have been published prior to Aldrich (1991:458, fig. 1B).
#30 (25/11?/1873) The Logy Bay giant squid draped over Reverend Moses Harvey's sponge bath, November or December 1873. The original photographs (as opposed to line drawings thereof) were apparently not published until much later; the present one is taken from the April 1899 issue of The Wide World Magazine (Harvey, 1899:737, fig.), where it was captioned "Dr. Harvey's immense octopus [sic]".
#30 (25/11?/1873) Another very similar (though non-identical) photograph of the head and arms of the Logy Bay giant squid. This one appeared in Frank Walter Lane's Kingdom of the Octopus (Lane, 1957:pl. 44), where it was described as "the best-known photograph of a giant squid".
#30 (25/11?/1873) Line drawings taken from two photographs of the Logy Bay specimen (Verrill, 1880a:pl. 13). Note that the upper illustration is based on a slightly different frame to the preceding photo (as evidenced by the contrasting arrangement of arm tips on the lower left, which are closer to those seen in this version).
#33 (2/11/1874) Simplified illustration from George Tryon's Manual of Conchology (Tryon, 1879b:pl. 82 fig. 378), highlighting the strange morphology, on which Tryon opined: "The truncated arms and the gradually attenuating body, with very narrow fins extending along each side for half its length, are noticeable peculiarities, as is also the web connecting the arms; it is questionable, however, how much the engraving may be relied upon".[200]
#34 (?/12/1874) and #42 (24/9/1877) Details of the horny ring of a large tentacular sucker of Verrill specimen No. 13 from 1874 (#34; fig. 11) and assorted arm and tentacular suckers of Verrill specimen No. 14 from 1877 (#42; remaining figures) (Verrill, 1880a:pl. 17)
#42 (24/9/1877) Ventral views of the supposedly anteriorly-free caudal fins of the Catalina specimen (top: after several days in alcohol; bottom: after several months in same), now known to be a preservation artefact[305] (Verrill, 1880a:pl. 19)
#42 (24/9/1877) Ward's models of the Catalina giant squid and a giant Pacific octopus, suspended from the ceiling of the American Museum of Natural History's Shell and Coral Hall, early 20th century. The squid was later moved to the Hall of Ocean Life, the Invertebrate Hall, and, following refurbishment, the "Wall of Life" in the Hall of Biodiversity (see 2015 image).[310] Both models were acquired in 1895 for a total of US$750 (equivalent to $27,468in 2023).[311]
#42 (24/9/1877) One of Ward's six original Catalina-inspired models is still extant at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Dating from 1898, it was purchased the following year after a protracted sale. The model was refurbished towards the end of the 20th century; taxidermist and artist Wendy Christensen-Senk repainted it a "more passionate reddish maroon" from its previous "battleship gray".[312]
#45 (2/11/1878) A "life-sized" (55-foot) concrete and metal sculpture of the Thimble Tickle giant squid of 1878. Completed in 2001 and weighing 4 tonnes, it was designed by Don Foulds and built by him and his students, following a CA$100,000 government contribution (equivalent to US$64,568 in 2023).[313]
#45 (2/11/1878) Another view of the sculpture showing the accompanying information plaque (compare the giant squid illustration therein with this modified version). Part of the Giant Squid Interpretation Site, the sculpture is located close to the site of the original specimen's capture and has featured on a Canada Post stamp.[314]
#49 (?/9/1879) Soft tissue remains of the 1879 specimen from Olafsfjord, Iceland, as they appeared in 2012 at the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen. The material is labelled as Architeuthis monachus, a taxon now considered synonymous with A.dux.
#49 (?/9/1879) Evolutionary biologist M. Thomas P. Gilbert pointing to the preserved left tentacle of the Olafsfjord giant squid of 1879
#49 (?/9/1879) Closeup of the same specimen, showing the enlarged suckers of the tentacular club. The morphology of this tentacle was studied by Roeleveld (2002).
#54 (?/4/1880) and one other Beak with buccal mass and oesophagus, tentacular club, and arm fragments of the Grand Banks specimen found dead at the surface in April 1880 (#54), the first in which arm and sucker regeneration was documented (Verrill, 1881b:pl. 26). A single sucker (fig. 5) of the first Portugal Cove specimen (#29) is also shown.
#62 (?/10/1887) T. W. Kirk's sketch of the Architeuthis longimanustype specimen in lateral aspect (Kirk, 1888:pl. 7). Note the extreme length of the feeding tentacles relative to the mantle and arms, which has been questioned by some authors.[nb 24]
#62 (?/10/1887) Illustration of the A.longimanus specimen by T. W. Kirk, showing the posterior end of the mantle (including caudal fins), details of arm and tentacular suckers, and transverse sections of arms I–IV (Kirk, 1888:pl. 8)
#69 (10/4/1896) and others View from the other end of the corridor, showing the tentacles of the three more-or-less complete specimens and various other assorted giant squid parts (see also tentacular club being examined)
#69 (10/4/1896) Tentacular suckers of the largest specimen, examined in 2011, when the box containing the museum's six giant squid was reopened for maintenance, registration in the database, and to add new preservatives.[316]
#69 (10/4/1896) Beak of the same specimen, as it appeared during the 2011 inspection
Though fictional accounts often depict giant squid attacking boats (cf.#29), live animals found at the surface are almost invariably sick or dying, and no injuries resulting from such encounters have ever been documented.The surface encounter between a sperm whale and a giant squid supposedly witnessed by Frank Thomas Bullen, from his semi-autobiographical travel narrative The Cruise of the Cachalot, first published in 1898
Top: The so-called St. Augustine Monster of 1896, which A. E. Verrill briefly considered "perhaps a species of Architeuthis"[132] but was later shown to be the remains of a whale Bottom: A fanciful depiction of the Florida carcass as a tentacled sea monster, from the Pennsylvania Grit of 13 December 1896
↑ 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 [98cm] 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."[2]
↑ A number of naturalists had become convinced of the existence of giant cephalopods even prior to Steenstrup's writings.[6] One example was American naturalist and physician Samuel L. Mitchill, who brought together numerous reports of such animals in letters published in his journal, The Medical Repository, in the 1810s.[7] Another early proponent was Hamilton Smith, F.R.S., who examined a beak and other parts of an "enormous Sepia" preserved at the Museum of Haarlem (now Teylers Museum) and presented his findings to the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1841.[8] Prior to acquiring material evidence in the 1850s, Steenstrup himself came to accept the existence of giant ten-limbed cephalopods based solely on textual sources (see #2 and 7), writing in 1849: "Whether we could get further than to realize that it is one of the Decapod forms of the Linnean genus Sepia will depend on whether such a form will later be washed ashore" (translated from the original Danish).[9] The existence of giant squid was also known to sperm whalers, who would occasionally witness their quarry regurgitating large fragments of these animals.[10]Herman Melville devoted a short chapter to the giant squid in his 1851 novel Moby-Dick, several years before its formal scientific recognition by Steenstrup.[11] Though a work of fiction, the novel has been described as including "the best description ever written of nineteenth-century Yankee whaling", with natural history accounts "as accurate as any nineteenth-century biologist's", and was partly informed by Melville's own experience on the whaling ship Acushnet.[12] Charles Paxton has argued that the idea that naturalists prior to Steenstrup generally rejected the existence of giant cephalopods[13] is erroneous and originates in part from Bernard Heuvelmans's "rather odd" telling of the giant squid's history in his In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents[14] and that, on the contrary, their reality was widely accepted, at least among the British zoological community, though the danger posed to ships (as claimed by authors such as Pierre Denys de Montfort[15]) was doubted.[16]Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society for more than 41 years and described by Paxton as "surely the personification of the scientific establishment in early 19th century Britain", was himself well acquainted with large squid, having eaten one (likely Taningia danae) in soup form on 3 March 1769, during James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific.[17] In 1783, Banks presented at the Royal Society an important early paper on ambergris by the London-based German physician Franz Xavier Schwediawer, in which was recounted an observation made by fishermen some ten years earlier of a sperm whale that had in its mouth an incomplete cephalopod tentacle nearly 27ft (8.2m) long.[18] To Schwediawer, this corroborated "the common saying of the fishermen, that the cuttle-fish is the largest fish of the ocean".[18] Schwediawer's footnote would be cited "uncritically" in subsequent works, such as Thomas Beale's influential The Natural History of the Sperm Whale of 1839.[17]
↑ 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 25 ?November 1873 (#30) was the first complete giant squid to be photographed,[25] albeit in two parts and across two frames.[26] 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; #29 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.[27] The giant squid found beached on Île Saint-Paul on 2 November 1874 (#33) was another early specimen to be photographed.[28] Perhaps the earliest of all was the beak of the October 1871 specimen (#22) from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, whose photograph was taken some time after its discovery but already mentioned in February 1873 by Packard (1873:92).
↑ 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"[39] (cf. #38). Richard Ellis noted that Aldrich never repeated this claim in print, "so it is likely that he learned it was not accurately reported".[40] However, Aldrich had earlier given more details in an interview with The Muse, where he stated that in autumn 1964 a Japanese trawler operating around 100 miles (160km) off St. John's "went through a school of sixty or seventy of these animals frolicking on the surface of the water".[41] Aldrich also told Clyde Roper that "Grand Banks fishermen have reported seeing hundreds of giant squid bodies floating on the surface".[42]
1 2 3 These three-dimensional models were preceded by a full-scale painted wooden cutout, with arms 35ft (11m) long, that was prepared by Francis Trevelyan Buckland in the 1870s for his Museum of Economic Fish Culture in South Kensington, London.[76] Its appearance was based on official papers and photographs Buckland received through the Colonial Office in December 1873 relating to both the first Portugal Cove specimen (#29) and the Logy Bay specimen (#30).[76] Buckland's cutout has been described as the "first attempt to show the public what a giant squid really looked like".[77]
↑ See giant squid specimen #661, whose tank leaked around 1 tonne of formalin in February 2022, resulting in the month-long closure of the Ibaraki Nature Museum near Tokyo, Japan.
↑ Dery (2013) wrote that "virtually every general-interest article dutifully repeats the magic number of 60 feet [18.3m]". This figure matches that estimated for the total length of the Portugal Cove specimen of 1873 (#29)[87] and is close to that given for the total length of the Architeuthis longimanusholotype, which describer Thomas William Kirk variously cited as 55ft 2in (16.81m) or 57ft (17.4m) and which the fisherman who found the specimen gave as 62ft (18.9m).[88]
↑ In particular, the commercially important Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) is sometimes called 'giant squid' (or its Spanish equivalent calamar gigante) and this, together with its large size, has led to confusion with Architeuthis (e.g. misidentification #[2]). In February 2002, the Manhattan-based seafood restaurant Esca offered what was claimed to be Architeuthis, but the ammonia-free flesh turned out to be that of the Humboldt squid.[107]
↑ One record given by Ellis is omitted from the present list: Ellis (1998a:259) lists a specimen supposedly collected "[n]orth of Bahamas" in 1898, citing Steenstrup (1898), but this appears to stem from confusion with the type specimen of Architeuthis dux (#14), collected off the Bahamas in 1855.
↑ Published purported giant squid sightings thus excluded include those of J. D. Starkey from World War II;[113] Dennis Braun from 1969;[114]Jacques Cousteau (reported in 1973);[115] Tim Lipington from 1994;[116] C. A. McDowall (reported in 1998);[117] Gordon Robertson (reported in 2013);[118] and the "Giant Squid Found" MonsterQuest episode of 2007.[119] Likewise excluded are two sightings off Suffolk, England, both tentatively attributed to Architeuthis: the first a group sighting off Pakefield Gat on 29 October 1896[120] and the other an individual off Southwold on 20 October 1938.[121] Also excluded are reported sightings of giant squid engaged in surface "battles" with whales,[122] such as that supposedly witnessed by a whaler c. 1875;[123] from a Soviet whaling ship in 1965; from Danger Point Lighthouse, South Africa, in 1966;[124] and that supposedly seen and photographed from USS San Pablo around 120–140 miles (190–230km) off Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, also in 1966[125] (the resulting photos were reportedly "quite unsatisfactory"[126]). The squid–whale battles described in Frank Thomas Bullen's The Cruise of the Cachalot (1898)[127] and E. J. Pratt's The Cachalot (1926) have at times also been claimed to be based on true events.[128] Also excluded are supposed wartime encounters with giant squid, including off The Narrows, Newfoundland, and Dieppe, France,[129] and the giant squid that reportedly attacked survivors of SSBritannia after it was sunk by a German merchant raider in 1941.[130] Supposed specimens thus excluded include Charles H. Dudoward's 1892 and 1922 carcasses (variously described as octopuses or squid[131]); the so-called St. Augustine Monster of 1896 (initially postulated by A. E. Verrill to be a giant squid,[132] later a gigantic octopus, and eventually shown to be the remains of a whale[133]); other "blobs" and "globsters" variously speculated to be giant squid;[134] the whale-vomited giant limb fragment mentioned in Willy Ley's 1959 book Exotic Zoology;[135] two 42-foot (13m) long tentacles said to have been vomited by an aquarium-bound whale;[136] and the giant suckers supposedly recovered from sperm whale stomachs mentioned by Frederick Aldrich.[137] Also excluded are a number of enormous tentacles mentioned by Pierre Denys de Montfort,[138] based on interviews with whalers and sea captains, including one 35 feet (11m) long recovered from the mouth of a sperm whale as told by American whaler Ben Johnson; another 45 feet (14m) long found alongside a slaughtered whale as recalled by another American whaler by the name of Reynolds; a 25-foot (7.6m) portion (the whole tentacle was said to be around 35–40 feet [11–12m] long) hacked off during an attack off the West African coast according to Danish captain Jean-Magnus Dens; and captain Anderson's recollection of finding a pair of 25-foot (7.6m) tentacles "still connected by part of the mantle" on rocks near Bergen, Norway.[139]Frost (1934:103), citing the 21 December 1933 issue of The Evening Telegram of St. John's,[140] mentioned that Hon. Capt. A. Kean claimed he had found a giant squid at Flowers Cove "measuring 72 feet [22m] from tip to tip, and almost dead", more than 50 years earlier. Similarly, Bright (1989:149) mentioned that a "specimen found at Flower's Cove on the Newfoundland coast in 1934 [sic] was positively identified and measured" at 22m, and Kilias (1993:610) wrote of a specimen from Flowers Cove supposedly measuring 21.95m.[141] A similar length of 23m is sometimes attributed to a purported 1933 stranding from Australia.[142] There also exists a report of a specimen from Portugal Cove, Newfoundland, said to have been spotted in 1817 by a local minister named Larveige and named after him.[143] These records are likewise excluded due to a lack of substantiating evidence.
↑ Early sources variously give the date as 1545,[170] 1546,[171] December 1549,[172] or 1550.[173]Lycosthenes (1557) mentions three "sea monks" supposedly found in 1530, 1546, and 1549, the first in the Rhine and the latter two near Copenhagen (possibly referring to the same specimen). The earliest known source, a German woodcut of the creature dating from 1546[174]—according to which the event happened the same year—places an upper bound on the date, and Paxton & Holland (2005) consider 1546 to be the most likely year.
↑ Mentioned by Steenstrup (1855a:78), presumably referring to Jónsson's encyclopedic Annálar Björns á Skarðsá, covering the history of Iceland from 1400 to 1645, which was eventually published as a dual Icelandic–Latin work in 1774–1775.[178]
↑ It reads: "In the autumn [of 1639] on Thingøresand in Hunevandsyssel a peculiar creature or sea monster was stranded with length and thickness like those of a man; it had 7 tails, and each of these measured approximately two ells. These tails were densely covered with a kind of button, and the buttons looked as if there was an eye ball in each button, and round the eye ball an eyelid; these eyelids looked as if they were gilded. On this sea monster there was in addition a single tail which had grown out above those 7 tails; it was extremely long, 4–5 fms [7.5–9.4m]; no bone or cartilage were found in its body but the whole to the sight and to the touch was like the soft belly of the female lumpfish [Cyclopterus lumpus]. No trace was seen of the head, except the one aperture, or two, which were found behind the tails or at a short distance from them. This very creature was observed by many trustworthy men, and one of the tails of the sea monster was brought home to Thingørekloster for examination."[184]
↑ In a 2013 article about the giant squid, Mark Dery wrote: "contemporary teuthologists dismiss the "attack" as the death throes of a moribund animal, pointing out that virtually all giant squid encountered on the ocean's surface are dead or dying. "There is not a single corroborated story of a [giant] squid attacking a man, a boat, or a submersible", asserts Ellis."[222]
↑ As part of his research for The Kraken, Reed travelled to Newfoundland and spoke to Picot's descendants and to Margueritte Aldrich, widow of giant squid expert Frederick Aldrich.[230]
↑ The length of the "body [..] from the beak to the extremity of the tail" (i.e. mantle plus head) was said to be 20ft (6.1m), with "one of the arms" (presumably a tentacle) measuring 35ft (10.7m), for a total length of 55ft (16.8m).[246] The total length of the "Thimble Tickle specimen" is sometimes mistakenly cited as 57ft (17.4m).[116] Over time, various other superlative measurements have been attributed to the specimen, including a mass of 2 tonnes[247] or exactly 4,480lb (2,030kg);[248] an eye diameter of 40cm,[247] 18in (46cm),[249] or 9in (23cm);[250] and suckers 4in (10cm) across.[249] Wildly excessive mass estimates for the specimen have included:[251] 29.25 or 30 short tons (26.5 or 27.2 tonnes);[252] near 24 tonnes;[253] less than 8 tonnes;[254] and 2.8 or "more realistic[ally]" 2 tonnes.[255]
↑ The identity of the two other fishermen in the boat is not given in Moses Harvey's original account,[246] but later sources identify Joseph Martin, the founder of Thimble Tickle (now known as Glovers Harbour), as one of the fishermen involved in the squid's capture.[256] George Marsh and Henry Rowsell—the founders of the nearby settlements of Winter House Cove and Lock's Harbour (Lockesporte), respectively—have also been suggested as participants.[257] The fishermen may have learned of Moses Harvey's interest in the giant squid when the latter visited Notre Dame Bay only a couple of months earlier, in August 1878, as part of a geological survey.[258] A CBC News report broadcast in 2004 features Maurice Martin, great-great-grandson of Joseph Martin, recounting the story of the squid's capture as told to him by his grandfather.[259]
↑ An early example comes from the 1968 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, which gives an erroneous provenance of "Thimble Tickle, one of the Thimble Islands off the coast of Connecticut[sic]";[260] this was corrected by the 1971 edition.[248] The "Thimble Tickle specimen" is also cited as the largest recorded giant squid in many subsequent Guinness publications.[261] The specimen is not mentioned in the first US edition (titled The Guinness Book of Superlatives), published in 1956, which gives more modest maximum dimensions for the species: "The giant squid (Architeuthis) found on the Newfoundland Banks may have a body length of 8 feet [2.4m] and measure up to 40 feet [12m] overall."[262]
↑ Paxton countered that this was possibly attributable to shrinkage of the gladius prior to measurement, or to it having been severed in several places beforehand,[94] but Kirk wrote that it was measured "when first extracted" and only later "shr[a]nk considerably".[269]
1 2 3 Kirk (1888:38) provides a table with a detailed breakdown of the specimen's various measurements. There is, however, a discrepancy between the total length of 684in (17.37m, or exactly 57ft) given in the table—which agrees with the individual values of 71in (1.80m) for the mantle, 22in (0.56m) for the head, and 591in (15.01m) for the tentacles—and the total length of 55ft 2in (16.81m) given by Kirk in the body of the article. Wood (1982:191) suggested that, due to the tentacles' highly retractile nature, the total length of 62 feet (18.9m) originally reported by the fisherman "may have been correct at the time he found the squid", and that "[t]his probably also explains the discrepancy in Kirk's figures". Owing to its small mantle size, Wood (1982:191) estimated that "this specimen probably weighed less than 300lb [140kg]". O'Shea & Bolstad (2008) opined that the reported total length of 55ft 2in (16.81m) "simply cannot be correct" and attributed it to either "imagination" or artificial lengthening of the tentacles. They added that a female giant squid with a mantle length of 71in (180cm) "measured post mortem and relaxed (by modern standards) today would have a total length of ≈32 feet [9.8m]". Paxton (2016a:86) wrote that this specimen "clearly has the largest ratio of TL to ML [total length to mantle length] ever known in Architeuthis [...] which led [O'Shea & Bolstad, 2008] to suggest that the length was paced out and/or there was extensive post-mortem stretching. However, a re-reading of the original paper suggests that the specimen, although initially paced out, was actually measured, nevertheless the TL is at the edge of the 99.9% prediction interval range [...] and so it was certainly an unusual specimen."
↑ Frederick Aldrich, who personally examined more than a dozen giant squid specimens, wrote that his largest specimen from Newfoundland bore tentacular suckers "approximately two inches [5.1cm] in diameter" but that "[s]uckers and their toothed armament of over twelve inches [30cm] in diameter have been found in the stomachs of sperm whale [sic] as indigestible wastes".[137] This led him to entertain the idea of giant squid over 150ft (46m) long and even to suggest a binomial name for this super-sized species, were it ever to be discovered: Architeuthis halpertius (after folkloristHerbert Halpert).[137] Aldrich restated this belief in "Monsters of the Deep", the second episode of the 1980 television series Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World: "I believe that the giant squid reach an approximate maximum size of something like a hundred and fifty feet [46m]".[291]Richard Ellis, apparently unaware of Aldrich's similar statements in print, commented: "It is difficult to imagine why Aldrich would have made such an irresponsible statement, unless it had to do with being on camera".[272]Arthur C. Clarke himself wrote in 1992 that "the evidence suggests, they [giant squid] grow up to 150 feet in length".[292] The published literature includes many other such extreme size estimates based only on supposed giant squid suckers or scars thereof.
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Kubodera, T. (2003). Architeuthis in Japanese waters. [p.50] In: Program & Abstracts: Cephalopod Biology, Recruitment and Culture: International Cephalopod Symposium and Workshop – CIAC 2003, Phuket Marine Biological Center, 17–21 February 2003. Cephalopod International Advisory Council.
Kubodera, T., S. Arai, H. Ohizumi, T. Tamura, K. Konishi & T. Isoda (2007). 西部北太平洋でマッコウクジラに捕食されていた頭足類. [Cephalopods eaten by sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus in the western North Pacific, 2000–2003.] [pp.49–52] In: Report of Annual Meeting on Squid Resources. Number 34. Japan Sea National Fisheries Research Institute. (in Japanese)
Kubodera, T. & K. Mori (1999). 日本近海産ダイオウイカの分類について（短報）. [Systematic study of the giant squid genus Architeuthis (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) around Japanese waters – short report.] [pp.72–78] In: Report of Annual Meeting on Squid Resources. Number 28. Japan Sea National Fisheries Research Institute. (in Japanese)
Kubodera, T., T. Wada, M. Higuchi & A. Yatabe (2016). Extraordinary numbers of giant squid, Architeuthis dux, encountered in Japanese coastal waters of the Sea of Japan from January 2014 to March 2015. Marine Biodiversity, published online on 24 December 2016. doi:10.1007/s12526-016-0618-7 (supplementary material)
Landman, N.H., S.M. Klofak, S. O'Shea & P.M. Mikkelsen (1999). A giant squid in New York City. [p.72] In: K. Histon (ed.) V International Symposium: Cephalopods – Present and Past, Vienna, 6 – 9th September 1999. Geologische Bundesanstalt, Vienna.
Leite, L., D. Campbell, L. Versiani, J.A.C.C. Nunes & T. Thiele (2016). First report of a dead giant squid (Architeuthis dux) from an operating seismic vessel. Marine Biodiversity Records9: 26. doi:10.1186/s41200-016-0028-3
Leviton, A.E. & R.H. Gibbs Jr. (1988). Standards in herpetology and ichthyology standard symbolic codes for institution resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology. Supplement No. 1: Additions and corrections. Copeia1988(1): 280–282. JSTOR1445961
Leviton, A.E., R.H. Gibbs Jr., E. Heal & C.E. Dawson (1985). Standards in herpetology and ichthyology: Part I. Standard symbolic codes for institutional resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology. Copeia1985(3): 802–832. JSTOR1444781
Lu, C.C., R. Boucher-Rodoni & A. Tillier (1995). Catalogue of types of recent Cephalopoda in the Museum national d'Histoire Naturelle (France). Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (ser. 4)17(3–4): 307–343.
Miller, J.A. (1983). Super squid lies in state: giant mollusc amply fills gap in Smithsonian collection. Science News123(7)[12 Feb.]: 110, 4 figures. JSTOR3967427 (front cover)
Möbius, K. (1898b). Das Museum für Naturkunde. [pp.132–158] In: Chronik der Königlichen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin für das Rechnungsjahr 1897/98. W. Büxenstein, Berlin. (in German)
Moore, B. (2002). Giant Squid Photo. Newfoundland's Grand Banks Site.
Morris, C.C. (1980). Studies of the statoliths of the squid Illex illecebrosus (Lesueur, 1821) and Architeuthis dux Steenstrup 1857 with speculation on their functional morphology. BSc. (Hons.) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's. 136pp.
Nesis, K.N. (1982). Abridged key to the cephalopod Molluscs of the world's oceans. Light and Food Industry Publishing House, Moscow. 385pp. (in Russian) [See Nesis (1987) for abridged English translation.]
Nesis, K.N. (1987). Cephalopods of the World; Squids, cuttlefishes, Octopuses, and Allies. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City. 351pp. ISBN0-86622-051-8.
Nordgård, O. (1923). The Cephalopoda Dibranchiata observed outside and in the Trondhjemsfjord. Meddelelse Fra Trondhjems Biologiske Station16[Aug.]: 1–14, 4 figures.
Okiyama, M. (1993). Kinds, abundance and distribution of the oceanic squids in the Sea of Japan. [pp.403–415] In: T. Okutani, R.K. O'Dor & T. Kubodera (eds.) Recent Advances in Fisheries Biology. Tokai University Press, Tokyo. 752pp.
Paxton, C.G.M. (2003). The dangers of over-rationalisation, or giant squids are red herrings. The Skeptical Intelligencer6: 19–28. [Reprinted in a slightly modified form: Paxton, C.G.M. (2004). Giant squids are red herrings: why Architeuthis is an unlikely source of sea monster sightings. The Cryptozoology Review4(2): 10–16.]
Paxton, C.G.M. (2016a). Unleashing the Kraken: on the maximum length in giant squid (Architeuthis sp.). Journal of Zoology300(2): 82–88. doi:10.1111/jzo.12347
Paxton, C.G.M. (2021). Driven mad by the sea serpent: the strange case of Captain George Drevar. The Mariner's Mirror107(3)[Aug.]: 308–323. doi:10.1080/00253359.2021.1940521 [Summarised in: Paxton, C.G.M. (2022). Driven mad by the great sea serpent: the strange case of George Drevar. Fortean Times no. 421[Aug.]: 30–35.]
Posselt, H.J. (1890). Cephalopoda, Volume 2. [pp.135–145] In: C.G.J. Petersen (ed.) Det videnskabelige Udbytte af Kanonbaaden "Hauchs" Togter i de Danske Have indenfor skagen i Aarene 1883–1886, 5 volumes and atlas, Kjobenhavn, 1889–1893. (in Danish)
Posselt, H.J. (1898). Gronlands Brachiopoder og Bloddyr. [Conspectus Faunae Groenlandicae. Brachiopoda et Mollusca.] Meddelelser om Gronland, udgivne af Commissionen for Ledelsen af de geologiske og geographiske Undersogelser i Gronland23(1): 1–298, 2 plates. (in Danish)
Robson, G.C. (1929). A giant squid from the North Sea. Natural History Magazine2[Jan.]: 6–8. [Summarised in: [Anon.] (1929). Squids in Yorkshire. The Naturalist: A Monthly Illustrated Journal Principally for the North of England54(640)[Mar.]: 103–104.]
Roeleveld, M.A.C. & J. Knudsen (1980). Japetus Steenstrup: on the Merman (called the Sea Monk) caught in the Øresund in the time of King Christian III; a translation. With a biography of Japetus Steenstrup by J. Knudsen. Steenstrupia6(17): 293–332.
Roper, C.F.E. & K.J. Boss (1982). The giant squid. Scientific American246(4)[Apr.]: 15, 96–100, 104–105. JSTOR24966572 [Translated (June 1982): [Giant squid]. Ke Xue [1982](8): 55–61, 92. (in Chinese); Le calmar géant. Pour la Science56: 14–21, 125–126 [including "Commentaire" by R. Boucher-Rodoni] (in French); Der Reisenkrake. Spektrum der Wissenschaft [1982](6): 5, 58–61, 64–67, 122. (in German); [Giant Squid]. Nikkei Saiensu: Nihon Han12(6): 6, 72–79, 136. [translated by T. Okutani] (in Japanese); Il calamaro gigante. Le Scienze28(166): 128–132, 134–135. (in Italian); El calamar gigante. Investigación y Ciencia69: 3, 60–63, 66, 68–69, 128. (in Spanish)]
Steenstrup, J.J.S. (1855b). Kjæber af en kolossal Blæksprutte. Oversigt over det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger [1855](5/6): 199–200. (in Danish) [English translation: "On the jaws of a giant cuttle-fish". Published in Volsøe et al. (1962:14–15); pages from translation cited in square brackets.]
Steenstrup, J.J.S. (1882). Notæ teuthologicæ. Oversigt over det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger [1882]: 143–168. (in Danish) [English translation published in Volsøe et al. (1962:145–162); pages from translation cited in square brackets.]
Steenstrup, J.J.S. (1898). Spolia atlantica. Kolossale Blæksprutter fra det nordlige Atlanterhav.Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter: Naturvidenskabelig og Mathematisk Afdeling (ser. 5)4(3): 409–456, figures A–G, 4 plates. (in Danish) [English translation: "Spolia atlantica. Gigantic cephalopods from the northern Atlantic." Published in Volsøe et al. (1962:258–308); pages from translation cited in square brackets.]
Uragoda, C.G. (2005). Sinking of a schooner by a giant squid off Trincomalee in 1874. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (new ser.)51: 97–100. JSTOR23731245
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[Anon.] (c. 1673). A Wonderful Fish or Beast that was lately killed, by James Steward, as it came of its own accord to Him out of the sea to the Shore, where he was alone on Hors-back at the Harbour's Mouth of Dingle-Icoush [...]. [incipit] Dublin. 1 sheet. OCLC952032012
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#70 (27/9/1896)![The earliest known photograph of an intact giant squid, showing the arms, tentacles and buccal region of the head (including beak) of a specimen from Logy Bay, Newfoundland (#30 on this list), draped over Reverend Moses Harvey's sponge bath, November or December 1873. Harvey wrote in his journal: "I knew that I had in my possession what all the savants in the world did not [...] what the museums in the world did not contain [...] A photograph could not lie and would silence the gainsayers". The photograph includes contemporaneous annotations by zoologist Addison Emery Verrill, including a 1-foot scale bar (top left) and detailed marginal notes. Logy Bay giant squid, 1873.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Logy_Bay_giant_squid%2C_1873.jpg/340px-Logy_Bay_giant_squid%2C_1873.jpg)
