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 largest known complete specimen of the colossal squid was a mature female captured in the Ross Sea in February 2007. Its weight was initially estimated at , its mantle length at , and its total length at (O'Shea & Bolstad, 2008; [Anonymous],). Once completely thawed the specimen was found to weigh , but to measure only in mantle length and in total length ([Anonymous],). It is likely that the specimen, and particularly its tentacles, shrank considerably "post mortem" as a result of dehydration, having been kept in a freezer for 14 months. (As reported by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, specimens of "Nototodarus sloanii", the New Zealand arrow squid, can shrink by as much as 22% when dehydrated with alcohol solutions; see [Anonymous],.) The colossal squid specimen contracted by a further 5% after several years in preservative fluid (first formalin and later propylene glycol; see Lovis, 2011). The fins of the 2007 Ross Sea specimen measured around across and it had a mantle width of ([Anonymous],). The arms ranged in length from to , while the two tentacles were around long ([Anonymous],).