LIST OF COLOSSAL SQUID SPECIMENS AND SIGHTINGS

This 'list of Colossal Squid specimens and sightings' is a comprehensive listing of all recorded specimens of ''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'', popularly known as the Colossal Squid.

Contents

Number of specimens

List of Colossal Squid

Abbreviations

Oceanic sectors

Measurements

Repositories

Images

References

Number of specimens

According to Xavier ''et al.'' (1999), geographical positions for 188 ''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'' specimens caught by commercial and scientific fisheries were known as of 1999.

List of Colossal Squid

Records are listed chronologically in descending order and numbered accordingly.

★ 'Date' – Date on which the specimen was first captured, found, or observed. In cases where this is unknown, the date the specimen was first reported is listed instead.

★ 'Location' – Area where the specimen was found. Given as it appears in the cited references, except where additional information is provided in brackets.

★ 'Oceanic sector' – The quadrant of a major ocean in which the specimen was found (see Oceanic sectors).

★ 'Method of capture' – Method by which the specimen was recovered or observed. Given as it appears in the cited references, although "washed ashore" encompasses all stranded animals.

★ 'Identification' – Species or genus level taxon to which the specimen was originally assigned. Given as it appears in the cited references. Listed chronologically if specimen was re-identified.

★ 'Material cited' – Original specimen material that was recovered or observed.

★ 'Material saved' – Material that was kept after examination and not discarded (if any).

★ 'Sex' – Sex and sexual maturity of the specimen.

★ 'Size and measurements' – Data relating to measurements and counts. Abbreviations used are based on standardised acronyms in teuthology (see Measurements), with the exception of several found in older references.

★ 'Repository' – Institution in which the specimen material is kept. The acronyms used are those defined by Leviton ''et al.'' (1985) and Leviton & Gibbs (1988) (see Repositories). Where the acronym is unknown, the full repository name is listed.

★ 'Cited references' – Sources that provide specific data on a particular specimen.

★ 'Additional references' – Sources which merely refer to the specimen.

★ 'Notes' – Miscellaneous information.
Note: Names of anatomical features are retained from original sources (e.g. ''jaws'' may be given instead of the preferred ''beak'').

#	Date	Location	Oceanic sector	Method of capture	Identification	Material cited	Material saved	Sex	Size and measurements	Repository	Cited references	Additional references	Notes
1	1925			From Sperm Whale stomach	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'' Robson, 1925	Two arm (brachial) crowns					Robson (1925:272)
	1956/1957	South Orkney Islands (59°41'S, 44°14'W)	SWA	From Sperm Whale stomach	''Architeuthis'' sp.; ''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'' Robson, 1925	Head and mantle	Undetermined		HL: 30 cm; HW: 20 cm; ED: 16–17 cm; WL?: ~12 m		Korabelnikov (1959:103); Yukhov (1974:62)		Initial identification by I.I. Akimushkin. From 15.8 m long male Sperm Whale.
	1956/1957	South Shetland Islands (61°56'S, 52°39'W)	SWA	From Sperm Whale stomach	''Architeuthis'' sp.; ''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'' Robson, 1925	Fin only	Undetermined		FL: 41 cm; FW: 48 cm; WL?: ~10 m		Korabelnikov (1959:103); Yukhov (1974:62)		Initial identification by I.I. Akimushkin. From 15 m long male Sperm Whale.
	1970 (reported)				''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire	Entire?		ML: 86 mm		McSweeny (1970)	Voss (1980:395, fig. 10b); Clarke (1986:199)	Juvenile specimen. Upper and lower beaks described and illustrated.
	1975 (reported)				''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''				"large specimen"; ML unknown		Klumov & Yukhov (1975)	Clarke (1986:199)	Upper and lower beaks described and illustrated.
	1980 (reported)				''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire	Entire?	Female (subadult)	ML: 1250 mm		Voss (1980)
	1980 (reported)				''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire	Entire?		ML: 23 mm		Voss (1980:395, fig. 10c)		Advanced paralarva.
	1980 (reported)				''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Two partial specimens; brachial crowns	Entire			NMNH	Voss (1980)
	1981	off Dronning Maud Land, Antarctic at depth of 750-770 m		By trawl	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire		Female (immature)	ML: 2.42 m; EL?: 5.1 m			Ellis (1998:147)	Caught by Soviet trawler ''Eureka'' (Эврика). Photographed by Alexander Remeslo.
	1985 (reported)	at depth of 2000–2200 m		Trawled in opening-closing net (RMT8)	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire?			ML: 1.05 m		Rodhouse & Clarke (1985)
	1986 (reported)	(47°51'S 40°01'W, WH 101 I/76)			''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Lower beak	Entire?	Female (juvenile)	LRL: 7.10 mm; ML: 225.0 mm		Clarke (1986:200, fig. A)
	1986 (reported)	S. Georgia		From Sperm Whale stomach	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Lower beak	Entire?		LRL: 13.50 mm		Clarke (1986:200, fig. B)
	1986 (reported)	S. Georgia		From Sperm Whale stomach	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Lower beak	Entire?		LRL: 20.40 mm		Clarke (1986:200, fig. C)
	March 2003	Ross Sea		Found floating on surface	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire; recovered in three pieces, later reassembled	Entire	Female (subadult)	ML: ~2.5 m; WL: ~5.4 m; LRL: 37 mm; WT: ~300 kg	Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa		Numerous media sources
	2004 (reported)	"in upper slope waters of the Kerguelen Archipelago"		From stomach contents of 22 sleeper sharks (''Somniosus pacificus'')	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	89 beaks; 42 lower, 47 upper (minimum number of individuals: 49)	Entire		LRL: 10.1–38.8 mm; LRL(average): 22.3 mm ±7.2; ML(estimate): 61–237 cm; ML(average): 136 cm ±44; WT(estimate): 2.1–91.2 kg; WT(average): 24.4 kg ±22.1		Cherel & Duhamel (2004)		''M. hamiltoni'' beaks were found in 61.1% (22/36) of sleeper sharks examined. Beaks of this species accounted for 16.1% (89/553) of total recovered cephalopod beaks. ''M. hamiltoni'' accounted for 52.0% (1133621/2180535 g) of total reconstituted cephalopod biomass.
	25 June, 2005	"South Georgia waters" at depth of 1625 m		Caught alive by long-lining fishing vessel; "caught on a number of hooks on a longline" set to target Patagonian toothfish	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire; alive	Head with tentacles and arms; mantle too heavy to bring aboard		WL(estimate): ~5 m; WT (estimate): 150–200 kg		''South Georgia Newsletter'' June 2005		Caught by longliner ''Isla Santa Clara''. Five men, including the ship's scientific observer, attempted to bring the squid aboard. Paul McCarthy, the scientific observer, estimated the length and weight of the squid. Specimen was sent to King Edward Point (KEP) Scientists for formal identification. Two images taken by Ramon Ferreira Gomez.
	8 January, 2007	"near the Ross Ice Shelf"		Caught by long-lining fishing vessel targeting Patagonian toothfish	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire; alive	None?		ML(estimate?): 12-14 ft		[1], [2]		First recorded sighting of a mature Colossal Squid. Photographed alive in the water holding onto a Patagonian toothfish.
	"early February" (captured); 22 February, 2007 (reported)	"in the Ross Sea"		Caught by New Zealand (Sanford Ltd.) vessel ''San Aspiring'' while fishing for Antarctic toothfish	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Entire; alive	Entire	Male?	EL: 10 m; WT: 495 kg	Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa	Anderton (2007); [Anonymous] (2007a); Griggs (2007); [Anonymous] (2007b)	Numerous media sources	First mature specimen ever recovered and largest extant cephalopod scientifically documented. Weight initially estimated at 450 kg.
	28 May, 2007 (reported)	New Zealand?		From a research cruise	''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni''	Two tentacles			ML(estimate): 2 m		[3]

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used in the ''List of Colossal Squid'' table.

Oceanic sectors

''M. hamiltoni'' has a circumpolar Antarctic distribution.

★ 'SWA', Southwest Atlantic Ocean

★ 'SEA', Southeast Atlantic Ocean

★ 'SWP', Southwest Pacific Ocean

★ 'SEP', Southeast Pacific Ocean

★ 'SIO', Southern Indian Ocean

Measurements

Abbreviations used for measurements and counts are based on standardised acronyms in teuthology, primarily those defined by Roper & Voss (1983), with the exception of several found in older references.

★ 'ED', egg diameter

★ 'EL', "entire" length (end of tentacle(s), often stretched, to posterior tip of tail; in contrast to WL, measured from end of ''arms'' to posterior tip of tail)

★ 'FL', fin length

★ 'FW', fin width

★ 'HL', head length (most often base of arms to edge of mantle)

★ 'HW', head width

★ 'LRL', lower rostral length of beak

★ 'ML', mantle length (used only where stated as such)

★ 'WL', "whole" length (end of arms, often damaged, to posterior tip of tail; in contrast to EL, measured from end of ''tentacles'' to posterior tip of tail)

★ 'WT', weight

Repositories

Institutional acronyms are those defined by Leviton ''et al.'' (1985) and Leviton & Gibbs (1988). Where the acronym is unknown, the full repository name is listed.

★ 'NMNH', National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Images

The number directly below each image corresponds to the specimen or sighting, in the ''List of Colossal Squid'', that the image depicts. The date on which the specimen was first captured, found, or observed is also given. More detailed information for each image is available in the form of a mouseover.

Colossal Squid caught by Soviet trawler ''Evrica'' in 1981. Photograph by Alexander Remeslo.	Subadult female caught in 2003.	Specimen caught off South Georgia Island on June 25, 2005.	Colossal Squid sighted near the Ross Ice Shelf on January 8, 2007. First recorded sighting of a mature Colossal Squid.
# (?/?/1981)	# (?/3/2003)	# (25/6/2005)	# (8/1/2007)
Animal caught near in the Ross Sea in early 2007. Probably the largest specimen ever recorded, close to the maximum estimated size for the species.
# (22/2/2007)r	#	#	#

References

The following references are cited in the ''List of Colossal Squid'' table.

★ [Anonymous] 2005. Very Rare Giant Squid Caught Alive. ''South Georgia Newsletter'' June 2005.

★ [Anonymous] 2007a. NZ fishermen land colossal squid. BBC News 22 February 2007.

★ [Anonymous] 2007b. Microwave plan for colossal squid. BBC News 22 March 2007.

★ Anderton, H.J. 2007. Amazing specimen of world's largest squid in NZ. New Zealand Government website.

★ Cherel, Y. & G. Duhamel 2004. ''Deep-Sea Res I'' '51':17-31.

★ Clarke, M.R. 1986. ''A Handbook for the Identification of Cephalopod Beaks''. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 273 pages.

★ Ellis, R. 1998. ''The Search for the Giant Squid''. The Lyons Press, 322 pages.

★ Griggs, K. 2007. Colossal squid's headache for science. BBC News 15 March 2007.

★ Klumov, S.K. & V.L. Yukhov 1975. ''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'' Robson, 1925 (Cephalopoda, Oegopsida). ''Antarktika Doklady Komission'' '14':159-189. [English translation: TT 81-59176, Al Ahram Center for Scientific Translations.]

★ Korabelnikov, L.V. 1959. The diet of sperm whales in the Antarctic seas. ''Priroda'' '3':103-104, 5 figures.

★ Leviton, A.E. & F.H. Gibbs Jr. 1988. Standards in herpetology and ichthyology. Standard symbolic codes for intitutional resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology. Supplement No. 1: Additions and corrections. ''Copeia'' '1988'(1):28-228.

★ Leviton, A.E., F.H. Gibbs Jr., E. Heal & C.D. Dawson 1985. Standards in herpetology and ichthyology: Part I. Standard symbolic codes for intitutional resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology. ''Copeia'' 1985(3):802-832.

★ McSweeny, E.S. 1970. Description of the juvenile form of the Antarctic squid ''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'' Robson. ''Malacologia'' '10':323-332.

★ Robson, G.C. 1925. On ''Mesonychoteuthis'', a new genus of oegopsid, Cephalopoda. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'', Series 9, '16':272-277.

★ Rodhouse, P.G. & M.R. Clarke 1985. Growth and distribution of young ''Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni'' Robson (Mollusca: Cephalopoda): an Antarctic squid. ''Vie Milieu'' '35'(3/4):223—230.

★ Roper, C.F.E. & G.L. Voss 1983. Guidelines for taxonomic descriptions of cephalopod species. ''Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria'' '44':49-63.

★ Yukhov, V.L. 1974. The discovery of giant squids. ''Priroda'', Moscow, 1974(6):60-63, 3 figures.

★ Voss, N.A. 1980. A generic revision of the Cranchiidae (Cephalopoda; Oegopsida). ''Bull. Mar. Sci.'' '30':365-412.

★ Xavier, J.C., P.G. Rodhouse, P.N. Trathan & A.G. Wood 1999. ''Antarctic Science'' '11':61-62. [online version]