Giant Squid Washes Up in New Zealand

A huge 14-foot-long squid washed ashore in Wellington, New Zealand, according to media reports.

The Ocean Hunter Spearfishing & Freediving Specialists said on Aug. 25 that three brothers Dan, Jack, and Matthew Aplin found the giant squid.

“Wellington team member Dan had an interesting find in Wellington this morning!” said the group in a Facebook post.

“My brother said ‘what’s that over there?’ and pointed it out,” Daniel told Newstalk ZB. “It was right next to the track so we pulled over and we were like: ‘It’s a big squid.’”

“After we went for a dive we went back to it and got a tape measure out and it measured 4.2 metres (almost 14 feet) long,” he said, according to the station.

A spokesman from the Department of Conservation said the animal is likely a giant squid, not a colossal squid, which is a different species.

Male giant squids can grow as large as 33 feet in length, according to News.com.au.

The colossal squid is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass, and scientists say that specimens can get to be 1,600 pounds and between 39 feet and 46 feet (12 meters and 14 meters) in length.

The largest colossal squid ever measured was 43 feet in length and weighed almost a ton, according to Smithsonian Ocean.

“Ever since its discovery, there has been considerable speculation as to its maximum size,” said biologist Dr. Chris Paxton University of St Andrews, Scotland, the BBC reported in 2016. Dr. Paxton told the broadcaster that the longest reliably measured squid had a mantle length of 2.79 meters (9.1 feet). The mantle is the main body of the squid.