Colossal squid

Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni

Cephalopods
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth395–1,680 m
Water temperature-2–28 °C
Best monthsFebruary and March
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Victoria Klarissa de Souza, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is a species of very large squid belonging to the family Cranchiidae, that of the cockatoo squids, or glass squids. It is sometimes called the Antarctic cranch squid or giant squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Colossal squid”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 7 records
February: 8 records
March: 12 records
April: 2 records
May: 0 records
June: 1 records
July: 2 records
August: 1 records
September: 2 records
October: 1 records
November: 2 records
December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 395–1,680 m · Deepest record: 3,111 m

90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110–120 m: 0 records
120–130 m: 0 records
130–140 m: 0 records
140–150 m: 0 records
150–160 m: 0 records
160–170 m: 0 records
170–180 m: 0 records
180–190 m: 0 records
190–200 m: 0 records
200+ m: 27 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -2–28 °C

-2–0 °C: 22 records
0–2 °C: 1 records
2–4 °C: 0 records
4–6 °C: 0 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 1 records
10–12 °C: 1 records
12–14 °C: 2 records
14–16 °C: 8 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 2 records
26–28 °C: 4 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Colossal squid, Antarctic Cranch Squid, Giant Cranch Squid

Names in 4 more languages

German: Koloss-Kalmar
Spanish: Calamar colosal
French: Calamar colossal, calmar colossal
Japanese: ダイオウホウズキイカ

Similar species

Cockatoo squid
Cranchia scabra
Pacific Leach's cranch squid
Leachia pacifica
Deepsea squid
Bathothauma lyromma
Galiteuthis pacifica
Galiteuthis suhmi
Pfeffer's cranch squid
Helicocranchia pfefferi

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
120 open-data records from 1884 to 2023.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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