What's the largest recorded squid?
Colossal squid
The largest recorded specimen was captured in 2007 by a New Zealand fishing boat off Antarctica. It was initially estimated to measure in length and weigh . The squid was taken back to New Zealand for scientific study. A study on the specimen later showed its actual weight was , but it only measured in total length as a result of the tentacles' shrinking "post mortem".
Cephalopod size
The maximum sizes of certain cephalopod species, most notably the giant squid and giant Pacific octopus, have often been misreported and exaggerated. The literature on cephalopod size has been further muddied by the frequent misattribution of various squid specimens to the giant squid genus "Architeuthis", often based solely on their large size. In the academic literature alone, such misidentifications encompass at least the oegopsid families Chiroteuthidae, Cranchiidae, Ommastrephidae, Onychoteuthidae, and Psychroteuthidae (see Ellis, 1998a; Salcedo-Vargas, 1999; Glaubrecht & Salcedo-Vargas, 2004). This situation is further confused by the occasional usage of the common name 'giant squid' in reference to large squids of other genera (Robson, 1933:681; see for example Mitsukuri & Ikeda, 1895; Meek & Goddard, 1926; Clarke & Robson, 1929; Phillips, 1933; Croker, 1934; Rees, 1950; Smith, 1963; Nesis, 1970).