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".
List of giant squid specimens and sightings (21st century)
It was only on 30 September 2004 that a live giant squid was photographed in its natural deep-water habitat, off the Ogasawara Islands, by Tsunemi Kubodera and Kyoichi Mori (#466; Kubodera & Mori, 2005; Kubodera, 2010:25), the culmination of an effort that spanned three years and 26 week-long expeditions (Dery, 2013). Kubodera and his team, again working off the Ogasawara Islands, subsequently became the first to "film" a live "adult" giant squid on 4 December 2006 (#473; [Reuters], 2007; Kubodera, 2010:38).