The largest complete adult colossal squid ever caught is to be thawed and examined at Te Papa this week.

Final preparations for the project have been completed and thawing of the squid, which was caught by a fishing vessel in the Ross Sea in 2003, begins today.

The dissection is being broadcast live on Te Papa’s website and will also be filmed by Natural History New Zealand for a Discovery Channel documentary.

Once defrosted, the scientists will examine the squid’s general anatomical features, take measurements, remove the stomach (and its contents), beak and other mouthparts; and determine its sex.

I wonder if they’ll be serving calamari after?

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France’s National Museum of Natural History unveiled the world’s first “plastinated” squid on Tuesday. The 21 foot monster was donated by New Zealand and named in honour of a creature featuring in Maori legend.

Plastination is done by replacing the animal’s water, fat and other liquids with a polymer that hardens. This way, the squid to be viewed in a dry, solid state, rather than in a jar filled with formalin or alcohol.

The squid was hauled up in January 2000 at a depth of 2,000 feet by fishermen off New Zealand.

They should send some of this plastination stuff to Damien Hirst.

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A juvenile giant squid was found off the Florida Keys last week by North Fort Myers resident David Stout. The squid was transported to Mote Marine Laboratory for research purposes. The squid was fully intact and over 6 feet long including it’s tentacles.

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According to a study published Tuesday, voracious jumbo squid that can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh more than 110 pounds are invading central California waters. Apparently, they can change their eating habits to consume food eaten by other local predators (ahem, sharks). Does this mean they’ll be developing a taste for humans?

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What could be the largest giant squid ever found has washed up on a remote Australian beach.

The squid was found by a beachwalker late Tuesday on Ocean Beach, on the western coast of Tasmania.

“It’s a whopper,” Tasmanian Museum senior curator Genefor Walker-Smith told local media on Wednesday. “The main mantle is about one 3 ft across and its total length is about 24 ft.”

Blech.

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What appears to be a half-squid, half-octopus was found off Keahole Point in Hawaii. The unidentified “hybrid” could possibly be a new species.

The specimen was found caught in a filter in one of Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority’s deep-sea water pipelines last week.

The “octosquid” was pulled to the surface, along with three rattail fish and half a dozen satellite jellyfish, and stayed alive for three days.

Thanks James.

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The giant Humboldt squid have returned to the waters of Southern California, and apparently they’re bigger and more plentiful than ever. You know, those things have beaks….

Watch some video here.

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Newport Beach lifeguards and one Balboa Peninsula resident are reporting several dozen dead squid washed up on the city’s beaches over the weekend.

Larry Fuss, a local, said he saw 46 dead squid by his house Saturday and his wife saw 44 more. Ew.

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The colossal half-ton squid, believed to be the largest ever caught, may be destined for the microwave oven. But they don’t want to cook it - just defrost it.

The 33 feet long, 1,089 pound squid appears to be by far the largest specimen of the rare and mysterious deep-water species Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, or colossal squid, ever caught. Scientists at the museum are considering using a giant microwave oven as a possible way to defrost the animal so they can study it. The mammoth squid can’t be left to defrost at room temperature because the process would take days, and the outside would rot while the inside stayed frozen.

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After hearing about a giant squid being caught in southern CA last Friday, some anglers set out just south of Laguna Beach to find more…. and they did! They came back early this morning with a boat full of 30 lb, 5 footers. Normally, the squid caught around this area are only about 4 lbs. And there was also that giant one caught in New Zealand last week. Hmmm…. maybe they shouldn’t have cancelled Surface.

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