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History
For centuries, the existence of giant squids -- or other creatures with many large tentacles and large round eyes -- was the stuff of legends. The Norse first called it the Kracken, a name that would repeatedly surface in the myths of other cultures and in classic literature. In 1888 that legend became a scientific reality when a 57-foot long ruling squid washed up on a New Zealand beach. The colossal squid was discovered in 1925, when two tentacles were found in the stomach of a sperm whale that was being studied. It was not until 1981 that a full specimen of the colossal squid was caught.
Location
The ruling squid is common throughout the world's oceans. They typically stay near the coastlines, and are more prolific in the North Atlantic. Sightings are higher near the eastern coast of the United States, Newfoundland, Norway, Spain and the British Isles. Specimens also have been seen in the Pacific southwest, north Pacific, and Indian oceans. Specimens in tropical and polar locations are extremely rare. The colossal squid's range is larger than the ruling squid. They travel from the Antarctic to the southern tip of South America. They also are known to roam from South Africa to the southern tip of New Zealand.
Architeuthis dux Specimens
Roughly 200 full or partial corpses of these giant squids have been studied, though no live squids have been found. The male squid is believed to reach a maximum length of about 33 feet, while the female can reach 42 feet. The body's most prominent feature is its eyes, which sit on top of its head. It has a total of eight arms and two feeding tentacles. Each arm has two rows of suckers, which work like suction cups. Each sucker has a circumference of between one and two inches. These squid have multiple small fins on the back of the mantel, used to propel them through the water.
Mesonychoteuthis Hamiltoni Specimens
Less than 25 specimens of the colossal squid have been found and few have been complete so much of the information we have about them is assumed. In fact from 1925 -- when the species was discovered -- until 2003, no progress was made in defining the species. The largest known colossal squid specimen was captured off the cost of New Zealand in 2007, and measured 33 feet in length upon capture. It weighed 1,091 pounds. the colossal squid has eight arms and two feeding tentacles. The arms not only have suckers that have a row of teeth inside them, but large hooks, as well. Some of the hooks swivel and others have barbs, like a treble hook.