🦑Colossal squid

Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni G.C.Robson, 1925

The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is a species of very large squid belonging to the family Cranchiidae, that of the cockatoo squids, or glass squids. It is sometimes called the Antarctic cranch squid or giant squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Measurements

vs you

≈ 8× your weight

Conservation status

LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2014.

Population trendUnknown

Key measurements

Body mass: 495 kg
Body length: 4.2 m
Shoulder height: not recorded
Top speed: not recorded
Bite force: not recorded
Maximum lifespan: not recorded

All measurements ↓

Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Colossal squid

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass

495 kgmaximum recorded

SeaLifeBase

Details ↓

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 length

4.2 mmaximum recorded, total length

SeaLifeBase

Details ↓

Source: SeaLifeBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

Volume l

495 Laverage

Details ↓

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 Colossal squid yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force, maximum lifespan.

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More about the Colossal squid

In other languages

calmar colossal (fr), Kolosskalmar (de), колосален калмар (bg), calamar colossal (ca), kalmar Hamiltonův (cs), Kolosblæksprutte (da) … and 23 more languages

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