Editing Giant squid (section)

{{Short description|Deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae}}
{{Other uses|Giant squid (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Colossal squid}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Giant squid
| image = Giant squid Ranheim.jpg
| image_caption = Specimen of a giant squid that washed ashore in Trondheim, Norway being measured in 1954
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Allcock, L. |author2=Barratt, I. |date=2014 |title=''Architeuthis dux'' |volume=2014 |page=e.T163265A991505 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T163265A991505.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| grandparent_authority = [[Georg Johann Pfeffer|Pfeffer]], 1900
| genus = Architeuthis
| parent_authority = [[Japetus Steenstrup|Steenstrup]] ''in'' Harting, 1860
| display_parents = 3
| species = dux
| authority = [[Japetus Steenstrup|Steenstrup]], 1857
| synonyms = * ''Architeuthus'' <small>Steenstrup, 1857</small>
* ''Dinoteuthis'' <small>More, 1875</small>
* ''Dubioteuthis'' <small>Joubin, 1900</small>
* ''Megaloteuthis'' <small>Kent, 1874</small>
* ''Megateuthis'' <small>Hilgendorf ''in'' Carus, 1880</small>
* ''Megateuthus'' <small>Hilgendorf, 1880</small>
* ''Mouchezis'' <small>Vélain, 1877</small>
* ''Plectoteuthis'' <small>Owen, 1881</small>
* ''Steenstrupia'' <small>Kirk, 1882</small>
| range_map = Architeuthis distribution.png
| range_map_caption = Worldwide giant squid distribution based on recovered specimens
}}

The '''giant squid''' ('''''Architeuthis dux''''') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling [[squid]] in the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Architeuthidae'''. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of [[deep-sea gigantism|abyssal gigantism]]: recent estimates put the maximum body size at around {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=on}} for females, with males slightly shorter,<ref name=OShea /> from the [[cephalopod fin|posterior fins]] to the tip of its long [[cephalopod limb|arms]]. This makes it longer than the [[colossal squid]] at an estimated {{convert|4.2|m|abbr=on}},<ref>{{cite book |author1=Roper, C. F. E. |author2=Jereb, P. |year=2010 <!--|article=Family Cranchiidae--> |editor1=Jereb, P. |editor2=Roper, C. F. E. |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i1920e/i1920e00.htm |title=Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species known to date |volume=2 |article=Myopsid and Oegopsid Squids |series=FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes |id=No.&nbsp;4, Vol.&nbsp;2 |publisher=FAO |place=Rome |pages=148–178 |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129054613/http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i1920e/i1920e00.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> but substantially lighter, as it is less robust and its arms make up much of the length.<ref name=size>{{cite web |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=82&objectid=10507295 |title=Size matters on 'squid row' (+photos, video) |author=Atkinson, Kent |date=1 May 2008 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |access-date=25 September 2011}}</ref> The [[Mantle (mollusc)|mantle]] of the giant squid is about {{convert|2|m|abbr=on}} long (longer for females, shorter for males), and the feeding tentacles of the giant squid, concealed in life, are {{convert|10|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=OShea /> Claims of specimens measuring {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}} or more have not been scientifically documented.<ref name=OShea /><ref name=McClain_etal_2015 /><ref name="guide">[[Dianne Tracey|Tracey, D. M.]], O. F. Anderson & J. R. Naylor (2011). [https://fs.fish.govt.nz/Doc/23020/AEBR_86.pdf.ashx ''A guide to common deepsea invertebrates in New Zealand waters. Third edition.''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223031328/https://fs.fish.govt.nz/Doc/23020/AEBR_86.pdf.ashx |date=23 February 2021 }} [[National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research]], Wellington. 317&nbsp;pp.</ref><ref name=Yukhov2014>Yukhov, V. L. (2014). [http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/129663/24-Yukhov.pdf Гигантские кальмары рода ''Architeuthis'' в Южном океане / Giant calmaries<!--sic--> ''Architeuthis'' in the Southern ocean] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309133809/http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/129663/24-Yukhov.pdf |date=9 March 2024 }}. [Gigantskiye kalmary roda ''Architeuthis'' v Yuzhnom okeane.] ''Ukrainian Antarctic Journal'' no. 13: 242–253. {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

The number of different giant squid species has been debated, but genetic research suggests that only one species exists.<ref name=genetics/>

In 2004, a Japanese research team obtained the first images of a living animal in its habitat.<ref name="first">{{cite journal |author1=Kubodera, T. |author2=Mori, K. |year=2005 |title=First-ever observations of a live giant squid in the wild |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences]] |volume=272 |issue=1581 |pages=2583–2586 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2005.3158 |pmc=1559985 |pmid=16321779}}</ref>