Case file · Cryptid
A colossal squid hauled up in the Ross Sea
In February 2007 the New Zealand fishing boat San Aspiring brought up a colossal squid of about 495 kg while fishing for toothfish in the Ross Sea, the heaviest squid ever recorded.
2007 CE · -72.00, 177.00 · status: official
The account
The animal is now in the Te Papa museum in Wellington. The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) was known from 1925 only from beaks and pieces in sperm whale stomachs.
The researched reading
A real animal, physically in a museum. It shows how big creatures can go unseen in the deep for decades.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An unknown or out-of-place animal | 93% | A real but almost never seen animal: Mesonychoteuthis was described in 1925 from arm pieces and known for decades mainly from beaks in sperm whale stomachs; this 495 kg specimen, examined at Te Papa, confirmed its huge size. |
| A cultural story | 3% | Popular stories of monster squid exaggerate; the real animal is large but sluggish and lives deep in Antarctic waters. |
| Something known, misidentified | 1% | The specimen was dissected and identified by specialists; there is no misidentification. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 1% | A physical specimen in a national museum rules this out. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 1% | Not relevant: a body was brought to land. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 1% | Nothing beyond known biology. |
Official position: Scientific specimen held and studied by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.