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".
Giant squid
Pliny the Elder, living in the first century AD, also described a gigantic squid in his "Natural History", with the head "as big as a cask", arms long, and carcass weighing .