🦑Giant squid
The giant squid is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of abyssal gigantism; recent estimates put the maximum body size at around 5 m (16 ft) for females, with males slightly shorter, from the posterior fins to the tip of its long arms. This makes it longer than the colossal squid at an estimated 4.2 m (14 ft), but substantially lighter, as it is less robust and its arms make up much of the length. The mantle of the giant squid is about 2 m long, and the feeding tentacles of the giant squid, concealed in life, are 10 m (33 ft). Claims of specimens measuring 20 m (66 ft) or more have not been scientifically documented.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2014.
- Body mass
- 220 kg
- Body length
- 20 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 35 years
Everything we know about the Giant squid
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass220 kgmaximum recordedSeaLifeBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
SeaLifeBase populates Weight independently of Length; the two are not guaranteed to describe the same individual. Verify before publishing.
Source: SeaLifeBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Body length20 mmaximum recorded, total lengthSeaLifeBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: SeaLifeBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Maximum lifespan35 yearsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: questionable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Volume l220 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Giant squid yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumMollusca
- ›classCephalopoda
- ›orderOegopsida
- ›familyArchiteuthidae
- ›genusArchiteuthis
- ›speciesArchiteuthis dux
- phylumMolluscs · Mollusca
- classOctopuses & squid · Cephalopoda
- familyArchiteuthidae
- genusArchiteuthis
All 7 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumMolluscs · Mollusca
- classOctopuses & squid · Cephalopoda
- subclassColeoidea
- superorderDecapodiformes
- familyArchiteuthidae
- genusArchiteuthis
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