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The giant squid (Architeuthis dux, pictured) was for a long time thought to be the largest extant cephalopod. It is now known that the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) attains an even greater maximum size. The giant squid seen here measured 9.24 m (30.3 ft) in total length and had a mantle length of 1.79 m (5.9 ft).
The giant squid also exhibits abyssal gigantism, but the colossal squid is heavier. [29] Although it is unclear what the maximum weight for colossal squids is, analysis of squid beak dimensions from sperm whale stomachs provided estimates that colossal squids may weigh up to 700 kg or 1,500 lb. [5] [6]
The giant squid is widespread, occurring in all of the world's oceans. It is usually found near continental and island slopes from the North Atlantic Ocean, especially Newfoundland, Norway, the northern British Isles, Spain and the oceanic islands of the Azores and Madeira, to the South Atlantic around southern Africa, the North Pacific around Japan, and the southwestern Pacific around New ...
“The blue whale is the largest and loudest animal on Earth.” The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth and likely the largest animal ever to have lived. While this ocean mammoth is dubbed ...
Size of Paraceratherium (dark grey) compared to a human and other rhinos (though one study suggests Palaeoloxodon namadicus may have been a larger land mammal). The blue whale is the largest mammal of all time, with the longest known specimen being 33 m (108.3 ft) long and the heaviest weighted specimen being 190 tonnes.
The blue whale is the largest animal known ever to have existed. [42] [43] [44] Some studies have estimated that certain shastasaurid ichthyosaurs and the ancient whale Perucetus could have rivalled the blue whale in size, with Perucetus also being heavier than the blue whale with a mean weight of 180 t (180 long tons; 200 short tons).
In 2023, paleontologists estimated that the extinct whale Perucetus, discovered in Peru, may have outweighed the blue whale, with a mass of 85 to 340 t (94–375 short tons; 84–335 long tons). [18] However, more recent studies suggest this whale was much smaller than previous estimates putting its weight at 60 to 113 tonnes. [ 19 ]
The giant squid nevertheless remains a rarely encountered animal, especially considering its wide distribution and large size, [60] with Richard Ellis writing that "each giant squid that washes up or is taken from the stomach of a sperm whale is still an occasion for a teuthological celebration".