Sperm Whales feed on adult Giant Squid and are the only known predator to do so.

The Giant Squid (Architeuthis) is a family of eight squid species foun dthroughtout the world. There are many myths, rumours and tall tales about this cephalopod. It has been rumoured to be a man killer and reach lengths of over 100 feet.

Complete Architeuthidae Family Members

:: Architeuthis dux
:: Architeuthis hartingii
:: Architeuthis japonica
:: Architeuthis kirkii
:: Architeuthis martensi
:: Architeuthis physeteris
:: Architeuthis sanctipauli
:: Architeuthis stockii

Giant Squid Myths

A popular myth is that the Giant Squid is a man killer. There are stories of sailors being eaten alive in World War 2 after their ship was attacked and sunk. There are so many stories that these are in keeping with the feeding habits of squid. Squid will eat anything they can find and squid much smaller than two meters have been found attacking divers.

The image above shows a six foot hum bolt squid attacking a diver. What the video does not show is that two other squid are attacking his feet and dragging him down. The one in the video was able to attack his arm and pull it out of its socket.

The other myth is that the Giant Squid is able to reach over 100 feet in length. There is no scientific data backing up this claim. Several research reports from US universities estimate the largest Giant Squid possible to be 43 feet/13 meters long based on current research.

The TV show MonsterQuest captured footage of a Giant Squid some 600 feet below the surface using a diving camera rig. They hired Peter Schmidt, specializing in video forensics to analyze the video to determine the Giant Squid’s size. He came up with a length of 60 feet, much lower than the 100 feet estimated.

While this does not disprove Giant Squid over 100 feet, finding proof is very difficult as they live deep in the water and only come to the surface to feed at night. Those that claim they reach 100 feet are likely over stretching the tentacles to reach these lengths.

Giant Squid Features and Size

The male Giant Squid reach 13 metres/43 feet while the females reach 10 metres/33 feet. Their length is measured from the caudal fin to the tip of the two long tentacles. On average, the mantle is about 2 metres/ 6.6 feet long.

The giant squid has a mantle, eight arms plus two longer tentacles used like crippling hooks to grab their prey and pull them in. Considering their length is made up mostly of tentacles, Giant Squid only reach a maximum size of about 600 pounds.

Giant Squid Feeding Habits

The Giant Squid, like all squid, will eat whatever it can find. They will attack fish, molluscs, shrimp, sharks and even large blue whales. Blue whales have been found with circular scares that are in keeping with the teeth located on the circular suction cups on the Giant Squids tentacles.

Predation

Sperm Whales feed on adult Giant Squid and are the only known predator to do so. Young Giant Squid are not so giant and are fed upon by many predators until they reach sufficient size.