Throughout history, the colossal squid has been more the stuff of legend than a subject of study; and this is no coincidence, as it is elusive, living only in Antarctic waters and typically staying at depths of more than two kilometers.
Until a few days ago, only six specimens of colossal squid had been observed, all at the surface and most dead or dying. The largest caught to date measured 5 meters, although we know these giants of the deep can grow up to 15 meters and weigh 750 kilos. How do we know this? From tentacles found inside the stomachs of sperm whales: their nemesis and mortal enemies. In fact, almost everything we know about colossal squid comes from sperm whales.
The battle scars of the world's largest predator, the pieces left behind by its skin, and the regurgitated contents of its guts have given us a rough idea of the size of these giants. We've seen them dead and in pieces far more often than alive and whole. There's an internet saying, though not as common, that goes: if at any point you think your life is boring, just remember that somewhere in the world, right now, there's a colossal squid having a fight to the death with a sperm whale in the depths of the ocean.
But it is this lack of evidence that has led us to speculate. Wounds and sucker scars have been found on several sperm whales, which, if consistent with the known proportions of colossal squid, could indicate the existence of specimens nearly 50 meters long. In fact, the recorded sighting of the largest squid describes it at approximately that size: 50 meters long. However, this sighting occurred in 1903, and there is no way to verify its credibility. Thus, we could use the Kraken of Norse mythology (which was surely inspired by one of these squids) as evidence of the size they could theoretically reach.
