| # | Date | Location | Nature of encounter | Identification | Material cited | Material saved | Sex | Size and measurements | Repository | Main references | Additional references | Notes |
| 1(📷) | c. 1546 | Øresund, near Malmö, Denmark–Norway [since 1658 Malmö has been part of Sweden]{NEA} | Found washed ashore; "caught live" | "sea monk"; Architeuthis monachus Steenstrup in Harting, 1860; Jenny Haniver made from a skate; Squatina squatina (angelshark) | Entire? | Undetermined | | ?WL: ≈3 m | | Hamer (1546:, fig.); Belon (1553:38, fig.); Rondelet (1554:492, fig.); Belon (1555:32, fig.); Lycosthenes (1557:609, fig.); Gessner (1558:519, fig.); Rondelet (1558:361, fig.); Sluperius (1572:"89", 105, fig.); Vedel (1575); Huitfeldt (:1545); Gessner (1604:438, fig.); Stephanius ([c. 1650]:344); Steenstrup (1855a:63, 3 figs.); Roeleveld & Knudsen (1980:293, 3 figs.); Ellis (1998a:60, fig.); Paxton & Holland (2005:39, fig. 1) | records of Björn Jónsson á Skarðsá; Scheuchzer (1716:153); Holberg (1733:379); Lönnberg (1891:36); Nordgård (1928:71); Tambs-Lyche (1946:288); Carrington (1957:58, fig.); Muus (1959:170); Russell & Russell (1975:94); Strauss (1975:393, fig.); Aldrich (1980:55); Roeleveld (N.d.) | Contemporaneously regarded as a "sea monk". Drawings of animal sent by Christian III of Denmark to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (then in Spain) sometime between 1545 and 1550; specimen well known across Europe. Mentioned in the writings of 16th century naturalists Pierre Belon, Guillaume Rondelet, and Conrad Gesner (in his encyclopedic Historia Animalium), though giant squid identity first proposed by Japetus Steenstrup in lecture on 26 November 1854. Paxton & Holland (2005:39) concluded that the specimen "was unlikely to have been a giant squid [...] The most likely alternative suspect would be the angelshark Squatina squatina". The similar sea bishop has also been interpreted as a giant squid carcass or else a Jenny Haniver made from a skate. |
| 2 | autumn 1639 | Thingøre Sand, Nordresyssel (or Thingøresand, Hunevandsyssel), | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis sp. | Entire | One arm | | BL+HL: ≈6 ft (1.8 m); AL: ≈3 ft (0.91 m); TL: ≈16–18 ft (4.9–5.5 m); BC: ≈3–4 ft (0.91–1.22 m) | Thingøre monastery; "museum at Copenhagen" (ZMUC?) | Jónsson ([c. 1645]:238); Ólafsson (1772:716); Steenstrup (1849:950/); Steenstrup (1898:425/); Ellis (1998a:65) | Packard (1873:87); Verrill (1875b:84); Robson (1933:691); Muus (1959:170); Berger (2009:260) | Original Icelandic account is from the contemporaneous Annálar Björns á Skarðsá and has been translated into English. Crude drawing of animal mentioned by Eggert Ólafsson was lost with most of his books when his boat capsized off Iceland in 1768, leading to his death. Identified by Japetus Steenstrup as decapod cephalopod in 1849. |
| 3(📷) | c. 15 October 1673 | | Found floating at surface, in process of washing ashore, alive | Dinoteuthis proboscideus More, 1875; Architeuthis monachus; Ommastrephes (Architeuthis) monachus | Entire | Two arms, buccal mass, and suckers taken to Dublin | | liver": 30 lb (14 kg) | Undetermined [NMI?]; holotype of Dinoteuthis proboscideus More, 1875 | [Anon.] (c. 1673); Hooke et al. (c. 1674:, fig.); More (1875a:4526); Verrill (1875c:214); Tryon (1879b:185); Ellis (1998a:66); Sueur-Hermel (2017:64) | More (1875b:4571); Massy (1909:30); Ritchie (1918:137); Robson (1933:692); Rees (1950:40); Hardy (1956:285); Collins (1998:489) | Found by James Steward. Original material relating to this specimen consists of: a broadsheet printed in London with three letters (two from Thomas Hooke and one from Thomas Clear) together with a description and illustration; a fourth letter in manuscript; a broadsheet printed in Dublin to be distributed as a handbill; and an eight-page booklet printed in London with a woodcut reproduction of the illustration in the broadsheet (both originating from a painting on canvas brought to London, as it was impossible to preserve the carcass). |
| 4 | 1680 | | Not stated | | Entire? | | | | | Pontoppidan (1753:344) | Steenstrup (1857:184/); Grieg (1933:19) | |
| 5 | 1770 | | | | | | | Unknown | | Muss (1959) | Ellis (1998a:257) | |
| 6 | 27 May 1785 | | Found floating at surface, dead | Architeuthis sp. | | | | BL: 7 ft (2.1 m) | | Cartwright (1792:44); Thomas (:183); Aldrich (1991:457) | | Found during George Cartwright's sixth and final voyage to Newfoundland and Labrador. Spotted at 10 am surrounded by birds. Head broke off during retrieval. Described as "a large squid [...] when gutted, the body filled a pork barrel, and the whole of it would have filled a tierce". |
| 7 | November or December 1790 | | Found washed ashore | | Entire | None; used for cod bait | | "longest tentacula": >3 fathoms (5.5 m); "body right from the head": 3.5 fathoms (6.4 m); "so thick that a fullgrown man could hardly embrace it with his arms" | | Steenstrup (1849:952/); Steenstrup (1898:429/); Ellis (1998a:68) | February 1792 diary of Sveinn Pálsson (in library of Icelandic Literary Society, in Copenhagen); Verrill (1875b:84); Robson (1933:691) | Called Kolkrabbe ('coal-crab') by local people. Identified by Japetus Steenstrup as decapod cephalopod in 1849. |
| 8 | 1700s (reported 1795) | Freshwater Bay, near mouth of St. John's | Unknown | Architeuthis sp. | | | | | | Thomas (:183); Aldrich (1991:457) | | |
| 9 | 1700s | | Unknown | Architeuthis sp. | | | | | | Aldrich (1991:457) | | |
| 10 | 1798 | | Not stated | "gigantic squid" | | | | Unknown | "museum at Copenhagen" (ZMUC?) | Packard (1873:87) | Ellis (1998a:257) | |
| 11 | 9 January 1802 | | Found at surface, alive | ?Loligo ["vraisemblablement du genre Calmar [Loligo, Lamarck]"] | | | | "size of a barrel" ["grosseur d'un tonneau"]; AL: 1.9–2.2 m; AD: 18–21 cm | | Péron (1807:216) | Quoy & Gaimard (1824:411); Ellis (1998a:257) | Péron (1807:216) wrote: "it rolled with noise in the midst of the waves, and its long arms, stretched out on their surface, stirred like so many enormous reptiles" (translated from the French). |
| 12 | between 1817 and 1820 | | Found floating at surface | "énorme calmar" | Partial remains; "tentacles" ("tentacules") missing | | | WT: 100 "livres" [estimate]; WT: 200 "livres" [estimate; if complete] | | Quoy & Gaimard (1824:411) | Packard (1873:88); Ellis (1998a:257) | Found at surface in calm weather. Quoy & Gaimard (1824:411) opined: "it is easy to imagine that one of these terrible molluscs could readily remove a man from a fairly large boat, but not a medium-tonnage vessel, still less tilting this vessel and endangering it, as some would like to believe" (translated from the French). |
| 13(📷) | December 1853 | | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis monachus | Entire | Jaws only; radula discarded after poor preservation; jaws cut out; portion used for bait; remainder buried after 2 days | | WT: 80–85 kg; jaw measurements Steenstrup (1898:423/) | ZMUC catalog no. CEP-133; holotype of Architeuthis monachus Steenstrup, 1857 | Steenstrup (1855b:); Harting (1860:11); Steenstrup (1898:415/, pl. 1 figs. 1–2); Kristensen & Knudsen (1983:222) | Steenstrup (1857:); Packard (1873:87); Gervais (1875:91); Verrill (1875b:84); Verrill (1880a:238, pl. 25 fig. 3); Verrill (1882c:51, pl. 12 fig. 3); Posselt (1890:144); Nordgård (1928:71) | "Architeuthis monachus" Steenstrup = nomen nudum |
| 14(📷) | 5 November 1855 | | Not stated; presumably found floating at surface | Architeuthis dux Steenstrup, 1857; Architeuthis titan | Various parts | Gladius, mouthparts, part of arm, several suckers, and what may be hectocotylus | Male | WL: 377 cm; AL: 1/2 whole length; beak measurements; GL: 6 ft (1.8 m) | ZMUC catalog no. CEP-97 (or CEP-000097) and NHMD-77320 (multiple parts, each in its own glass vessel: gladius, mouthparts, part of arm, several suckers, and what may be hectocotylus); holotype of Architeuthis dux Steenstrup, 1857; ZMB Moll. 34798 (single sucker); piece of limb in Bergen Museum | Steenstrup (1857:); Steenstrup (1882:); Steenstrup (1898:413, 450/[260, 298], pls. 3–4); Tryon (1879b:186, pl. 86 fig. 388); Kristensen & Knudsen (1983:222); Glaubrecht & Salcedo-Vargas (2000:273); [NHMD] (2019) | Packard (1873:87); Verrill (1875b:84); Posselt (1890:144); Toll & Hess (1981:753) | Obtained by Capt. Vilhelm Hygom. Japetus Steenstrup donated single sucker to Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, which was incorporated into collection in 1883 according to catalogue entry. Preserved in 70% ethanol. |
| 15 | December 1855 | | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis sp. | Entire? | Undetermined | | None | | Muus (1959:170) | Posselt (1890:144) | |
| 16(📷) | Unknown (reported 1860) | | Not stated | Architeuthis dux;?Ommastrephes hartingii; Architeuthis hartingii (Verrill, 1875); nomen nudum | Jaws, buccal mass, detached arm suckers | Jaws, buccal mass, detached arm suckers | | ASD: 1.05 in (2.7 cm) | Utrecht University Natural History Museum; holotype of Loligo hartingii Verrill, 1875. Harting specimen No. 1 | Harting (1860:2, pl. 1); Kent (1874d:491); Verrill (1875b:85, fig. 28); Tryon (1879b:149, 184, pl. 60 figs. 194–195); Verrill (1880a:240, pl. 16 fig. 8, pl. 25 fig. 1); Verrill (1882c:52, pl. 12 figs. 1–1c); Pfeffer (1912:37) | Dell (1970:27) | |
| 17 | 1860 or 1861 | | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis monachus Steenstrup, 1857; Architeuthis dux Steenstrup, 1857 | | Undetermined | | TL: 16 ft (4.9 m); AL: ≈8 ft (2.4 m); BL: ≈7 ft (2.1 m) | | Jeffreys (1869:124); Stephen (1944:263) | More (1875b:4571); Pfeffer (1912:26); Rees (1950:40); Collins (1998:489) | |
| 18(📷) | 30 November ?1861 [=1860 Rees & Maul] | about 20 miles (32 km) | Found floating at surface | Loligo bouyeri;?Ommastrephes bouyeri | Entire, decomposed | None | | BL: 15–18 ft (4.6–5.5 m) | None | Bouyer (1861:1263); Crosse & Fischer (1862:135); Bouyer (1866:275, fig.); Kent (1874a:180); Verrill (1875b:86); Tryon (1879b:149, 184, pl. 59); Bourée (1912:113, fig. 108); Aldrich (1978:2); Ellis (1998a:5, 78); Heuvelmans (2003:185, figs. 95–96, 100) | Frédol (1865:314, pl. 13); Figuier (1866:464, fig. 362); Frédol (1866:362); Mangin (1868:321); Meunier (1871:245); Kent (1874d:491); Gervais (1875:93); Lee (1883:38, fig. 8); Rees & Maul (1956:266); Carrington (1957:53, pl. 3b); Muntz (1995:19, fig. 11); Lagrange (2009:19) | Observed only by officers of the French gunboat Alecton; sketch made. A report of the incident filed by the ship's lieutenant was almost certainly seen by Jules Verne and adapted by him for the description of the monstrous squid in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Iconography discussed by Lagrange (2009). |
| 19 | 1862 | | | | | | | Unknown | | Crosse & Fischer (1862) | Ellis (1998a:258) | |
| (📷) | Unknown; 1870? | | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis megaptera Verrill, 1878 [=Sthenoteuthis pteropus (Steenstrup, 1855)] | Entire | Entire | | extensive additional measurements | NSMC catalog no. 1870-Z-2; YPM catalog nos. IZ 017932 Archived 3 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine (sucker) & IZ 017713; holotype of Architeuthis megaptera Verrill, 1878; Verrill specimen No. 21 ("Cape Sable specimen") | Verrill (1878:207); Tryon (1879b:187); Verrill (1880a:193, pl. 21); Verrill (1882c:17, pl. 16 figs. 1–9) | | Non-architeuthid. Collected by J.M. Jones. |
| 20 | September 1870 | | Found washed ashore | | Entire | Beak | | BL+HL: 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m); BC: 6 ft (1.8 m); AL: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | In Kirk's possession; Kirk specimen No. 1 | Kirk (1880:310); Verrill (1881b:398) | Meinertzhagen letter 27 June 1879 to Kirk; Pfeffer (1912:32); Dell (1952:98) | Mr. Meinertzhagen sent beak, saved by third party (unidentified), to Kirk. Natives called specimen a "taniwha". |
| 21 | 1870 (winter) | | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis monachus of Steenstrup | Two specimens; entire? | None?; used as fish bait | | Two; EL: 40 ft (12 m) and EL: 47 ft (14 m) | None?; Verrill specimen Nos. 8 & 9 ("Lamaline specimens") | Murray (1874a:162); Verrill (1875a:36); Verrill (1880a:187); Verrill (1882c:11) | Boston Traveller, November 1873; Harvey (1874a:69); Kent (1874a:182); Frost (1934:101); Earle (1977:52) | Data from Mr. Harvey letter citing Rev. M. Gabriel's statement to Harvey. |
| 22(📷) | October 1871 | | Found floating at surface | Architeuthis princeps Verrill, 1875 | Entire; part used as bait | Jaws obtained from Baird for examination by Verrill | | mutilated]; AD: 7 in (18 cm); AC: 22 in (56 cm); beak; BC: 4 ft 8 in (1.42 m); WT: 2,000 lb (910 kg) | Jaws at NMNH (no longer extant?); lower jaw is syntype of Architeuthis princeps Verrill, 1875b; Verrill specimen No. 1 ("Grand Banks specimen" [1st]) | Packard (1873:91); Verrill (1874a:158); Verrill (1874b:167); Verrill (1875b:79, fig. 27); Verrill (1880a:181, 210, pl. 18 fig. 3); Verrill (1882c:5, pl. 11 figs. 3–3a) | Pfeffer (1912:20); Frost (1934:100) | Taken by Capt. Campbell, Schooner B.D. Haskins. |
| 23 | 1871 | | | | | | | ?EL: 16 ft (4.9 m) | | Dell (1952) | Ellis (1998a:258) | |
| 24 | 1872 (autumn or winter) | Coomb's | Found alive in shallow water, having been driven ashore in heavy sea | | Entire; "one long arm missing" (later changed to both present) | | | skin + flesh: 2.25 in (5.7 cm) thick; EL: 52 ft (16 m) | Unknown; Verrill specimen No. 3 ("Coombs' Cove specimen") | Verrill (1874a:159); Verrill (1874b:167); Verrill (1875a:35); Verrill (1880a:183); Verrill (1882c:7) | Owen (1881:163); Frost (1934:101) | Specimen had a reddish colour. Verrill's data taken from newspaper accounts and 15/VI/1873 T.R. Bennett letter to Prof. Baird. Verrill (1880a:186) states his No. 6 is same specimen as No. 3; this cannot be correct, since capture date for No. 6 is clearly stated as December 1874 by Verrill (1875c:213). |
| 25(📷) | December 1872 | | Found washed ashore | ?Architeuthis dux;?Architeuthis harveyi | Entire (damaged arms) | Pair of jaws and two suckers | | estimate]; BC: 6 ft (1.8 m) | NMNH; YPM catalog no. IZ 034835. Verrill specimen No. 4 ("Bonavista Bay specimen") (1875a:33); and possibly also Verrill specimen No. 11 ("Second Bonavista Bay specimen") (1875b:79) | Verrill (1874a:160); Verrill (1874b:167); Verrill (1875a:33, fig. 11); Verrill (1875b:79); Verrill (1880a:184, 187, pl. 16 figs. 5–6, pl. 25 fig. 5); Verrill (1882c:8, 11, pl. 3 figs. 4–4a, pl. 4 figs. 1–1a) | Pfeffer (1912:19); Frost (1934:101) | Material from Rev. A. Munn, through Prof. Baird to Verrill. |
| 26(📷) | Unknown (reported 1873) | | From sperm whale stomach | Architeuthis princeps Verrill, 1875; Ommastrephes (Architeuthis) princeps | Upper and lower jaws | Upper and lower jaws | | Beak measurements | Presented by Capt. N.E. Atwood of Provincetown, Massachusetts to EI; PASS; syntype of Architeuthis princeps Verrill, 1875b; Verrill specimen No. 10 ("Sperm-whale specimen") | Packard (1873:91, fig. 10); Verrill (1875a:22); Verrill (1875b:79, figs. 25–26); Tryon (1879b:185, pl. 85); Verrill (1880a:187, 210, pl. 18 figs. 1–2); Verrill (1882c:11, pl. 11 figs. 1–2) | Frost (1934:101) | First reported by Alpheus Spring Packard in February 1873. Verrill states Packard's illustration is inaccurate. |
| 27(📷) | Unknown (reported 1873) | Unknown; ? | Not stated | Architeuthis monachus; Plectoteuthis grandis Owen, 1881; Architeuthis sp.? (grandis); nomen nudum | Sessile arm | Arm | | ASD: ≤0.5 in (1.3 cm); total size and size of various missing parts estimated by Lee (1875:114) | BMNH; holotype of Plectoteuthis grandis Owen, 1881 | Kent (1874a:179); Kent (1874d:493); Lee (1875:113); Verrill (1875b:86); Owen (1881:156, pls. 34–35); Verrill (1881b:400); Verrill (1882b:72); Steenstrup (1882:); Pfeffer (1912:37) | Dell (1970:27) | "No history relating to it has been preserved", but first examined by Henry Lee in May 1873, having been in BMNH collections for "long" time. Bore c. 300 suckers. |
| 28 | 1873 | Yedo [Tokyo] | Purchased | Megateuthis martensii Hilgendorf, 1880; Nomen spurium | 'Entire', missing head, "abdominal sac", ends of tentacles and arms | Not specified | | ML: 186 cm; WL: 414 cm; HL: 41 cm; AL: 197 cm [longest]; ASD: 1.5 cm (with 37 cusps); EyD: 200 mm | ZMB Moll. 34716 + 38980; holotype of Megateuthis martensii Hilgendorf, 1880 [34716a: eyeball, 200 mm diameter, dry; 34716b: pieces of arm and gladius, suckers; 34716c: larger piece of arm with suckers; 38980: four suckers from holotype arm piece] | Hilgendorf (1880:67); Pfeffer (1912:31); Sasaki (1929:227); Glaubrecht & Salcedo-Vargas (2000:276) | Owen (1881:163); Sasaki (1916:90) | Second specimen from Tokyo fishmarket seen by Franz Martin Hilgendorf and used for description of gladius. Of other specimen, Hilgendorf saved "parts of an arm, the covering of the eye, and a fragment of the gladius" ("Theile eines Armes, die Hüllen des Auges, und ein Bruchstück des Schulpes"). Model of specimen placed in Exhibition of Fishery in Berlin. |
| 29(📷) | 26 October 1873 | | Found floating at surface, alive | Megaloteuthis harveyi Kent, 1874; Architeuthis monachus of Steenstrup;?Architeuthis harveyi | Entire | One tentacle; one arm discarded | | (see Verrill, 1880a:220) TL: 19 ft (5.8 m) [incomplete; total estimated at 35 ft (11 m) with ≈10 ft (3.0 m) left attached to body and 6 ft (1.8 m) subsequently destroyed]; TC: 3.5 in (8.9 cm) [stalk; club 6 in (15 cm)]; TSD: 1.25 in (3.2 cm); additional measurements based on photograph; additional club measurement from Harvey letter; BL: ≈10 ft (3.0 m); EL: ≈60 ft (18 m) [estimate]; AL: 6 ft (1.8 m); AD: 10 in (25 cm); TSC: ≈180; beak as large "as a six-gallon keg"; "tail" 10 ft (3.0 m) across | YPM?; holotype of Megaloteuthis harveyi Kent, 1874; Verrill specimen No. 2 ("Conception Bay specimen") | Harvey (1873a); Harvey (1873b); Harvey (1873c); Harvey (1874a:67, fig.); Murray (1874a:161); Murray (1874b:120); Verrill (1874a:159); Verrill (1874b:167); Kent (1874a:178, 182); Agassiz (1874:226); Kent (1874d:32); Buckland (1875:211); Verrill (1875a:34); Verrill (1875b:78); Verrill (1880a:181); Verrill (1881b:pl. 26 fig. 5); Verrill (1882b:74); Verrill (1882c:5, pl. 4 figs. 3–3a); Hatton & Harvey (1883:238); Harvey (1899:732, fig.); Ellis (1998a:81); Haslam (2017) | "13 December Field"; [Anon.] (1873:2); Harvey (1873d:2); [Anon.] (1874:333); de La Blanchère (1874:197, fig.); Rathbun (1881:266, fig.); Owen (1881:161, pl. 33 fig. 2); Lee (1883:42, fig. 9); [Anon.] (1902b:6, fig.); Pfeffer (1912:19); Frost (1934:100); Aldrich (1991:457); Packham (1998); Dery (2013) | Struck by Theophilus Picot from boat whereupon it "attacked" the boat; veracity of account has been questioned. Severed tentacle purchased by Moses Harvey for NF$10 (equivalent to US$237 in 2024) and preserved in alcohol; exhibited at Alexander Murray's geological museum in St. John's (a forerunner of the Newfoundland Museum, itself now part of The Rooms), where it remained as of 1883. Famed naturalist Louis Agassiz showed great interest in the specimen, writing: "It is truly important for the history of cephalopods"; his final scientific letters (he died on 14 December 1873) concerned the possibility of examining its remains. Served as a reference for the earliest known "life-sized" giant squid cutout, from the 1870s. Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as the "longest visually estimated" total length of any giant squid specimen. Encounter dramatised in episode of 1998 documentary series The X Creatures; fictionalised in The Adventures of Billy Topsail (1906) by Norman Duncan and The Kraken (1995) by Don C. Reed. A similar event is portrayed in The Shipping News (1993) by E. Annie Proulx. |
| 30(📷) | 25 November? 1873 | Logy Bay (≈3 miles from St. John's), | In herring net | ?Architeuthis monachus of Steenstrup; Ommastrephes (Architeuthis) monachus; Architeuthis harveyi (Kent, 1874) | Entire (badly mutilated, head severed, eyes missing, etc.) | Miscellaneous parts obtained from Rev. M. Harvey (gladius and ?) | | (see Verrill, 1880a:220; Buckland, 1875:214) BL: ≈7 ft (2.1 m); BC: 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m); HC: 9 ft (2.7 m) [at junction with arms]; caudal fin: 22 in (56 cm) broad; TL: 24 ft (7.3 m); TC: 2.5 in (6.4 cm); TSD: 1.25 in (3.2 cm); AL: 6 ft (1.8 m) [all 8]; AC: 10 in (25 cm), 9 in (23 cm), 8 in (20 cm), 7 in (18 cm) [all basal measurements]; ASC: ≈100; CSC: ≈160; EyD: 4 in (10 cm) [estimate based on remains of "eyelid"]; club description; extensive description of reconstructed parts | YPM catalog nos. IZ 009634 (beak and limbs), IZ 017924 (radula), IZ 017925, IZ 017926 & IZ 034968[permanent dead link]. Verrill specimen No. 5 ("Logie Bay specimen") | Harvey (1873d:2); Verrill (1874a:160); Verrill (1874b:167); Kent (1874a:181); Kent (1874d:32); Buckland (1875:212, 214); Verrill (1875a:22, figs. 1–6, 10); Verrill (1876:236); Tryon (1879b:184, pls. 83–84); Verrill (1880a:184, 197, pls. 13–15, pl. 16 figs. 1–4, pl. 16a); Verrill (1880b:295, pl. 13); Verrill (1882c:8, pls. 1–2, pl. 3 figs. 1–3, pl. 4 figs. 4–11, pl. 5 figs. 1–5); Hatton & Harvey (1883:240); Harvey (1899:735, fig.); Pfeffer (1912:18); Aldrich (1991:457, fig. 1A, B); Haslam (2017) | Harvey in Morning Chronicle (newspaper) of St. John's; Maritime Monthly Magazine of St. John's, March 1874; several other newspapers; [Anon.] (1874:332); Lee (1883:43, fig. 10); [Anon.] (1902b:6, fig.); Frost (1934:101) | Verrill's data from letter to Dr. Dawson from Moses Harvey. Harvey purchased specimen for NF$10 (equivalent to US$237 in 2024). Photographs made of a) entire body, somewhat mutilated anteriorly; b) head and 10 limbs. Poorly preserved; first in brine, then in alcohol. Capture date given as December several times, then as November several times, and as 25 November by Aldrich (1991:457). Served as a reference for the earliest known "life-sized" giant squid cutout, from the 1870s. Verrill's description served as the basis for the "life-sized" model that now hangs at the Peabody Museum of Natural History (YPM IZ 104471), built in 1966, though it was also based on several Newfoundland specimens from the 1960s. Specimen and famous photograph of it draped over Harvey's shower curtain rod were subject of Preparing the Ghost (2014), a work of creative nonfiction by Matthew Gavin Frank. |
| 31 | 1874 | Buøy, | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis dux | Entire | None | | WL: ≈4 m | | Grieg (1933:19) | Nordgård (1928:71) | |
| 32 | 10 May 1874 | off Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (8°50′N 84°05′E / 8.833°N 84.083°E / 8.833; 84.083 (Supposed sinking of ship by giant squid, 10 May 1874)){NIO} | Reportedly seen sinking ship | | | | | Unknown | | The Times, 4 July 1874; Mystic Press, 31 July 1874; Lane (1957:205); Flynn & Weigall (1980); Ellis (1998a:198); Boyle (1999); Uragoda (2005:97) | Welfare & Fairley (1980:74); Aldrich (1990a:5); Clarke (1992:72); Ellis (1998a:258) | Schooner Pearl (150 tons) with crew of six, including captain James Floyd, supposedly sunk by giant squid. Incident reportedly seen from passenger steamer Strathowen, bound from Colombo to Madras, which rescued five of the crew. Veracity of account has been questioned, though taken seriously by Frederick Aldrich. Fictionalised in Don C. Reed's 1995 novel The Kraken. |
| 33(📷) | 2 November 1874 | on beach, St. Paul Island, Indian Ocean (38°43′S 77°32′E / 38.717°S 77.533°E / -38.717; 77.533 (Giant squid specimen, 2 November 1874)){SIO} | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis mouchezi Vélain (1875:1002) [nomen nudum]; Mouchezis sancti-pauli Vélain (1877:81); Ommastrephes mouchezi | Entire; found in advanced state of decay | Tentacle(s?) and buccal mass | | EL: 7.15 m | MNHN catalog nos. 3-2-658 & 3-2-659 (tentacular clubs); holotype of Mouchezis sancti-pauli Vélain, 1877 | Vélain (1875:1002); Vélain (1877:81 & 83, fig. 8); Vélain (1878:81 & 83, fig. 8); Tryon (1879b:184, pl. 82 fig. 378); Owen (1881:159); Pfeffer (1912:32) | Gervais (1875:88); Verrill (1875c:213); Wright (1878:329) | Recorded by geologist Charles Vélain during French astronomical mission to Île Saint-Paul to observe the transit of Venus. Specimen was photographed. |
| 34(📷) | December 1874 | | Found washed ashore | Architeuthis princeps | Entire, except for tail (cut up for dog food) | Jaws, one tentacular sucker | | jaws | YPM catalog nos. IZ 010272 (beak) & IZ 034836[permanent dead link]. Verrill specimen No. 6 and Verrill specimen No. 13 ("Fortune Bay specimen") | Verrill (1875a:35); Verrill (1875c:213); Verrill (1880a:186, 188, 217, pl. 17 fig. 11); Verrill (1881b:445, pl. 54 fig. 1); Verrill (1882c:10, 12, pl. 7 fig. 1, pl. 9 fig. 11) | Simms letter 27/X/1875 to Verrill; Frost (1934:102) | Data from 10/XII/1873 letter from Mr. Harvey to unknown individual citing measurements taken by G. Simms; Pfeffer (1912:21). Measurements are given differently in different papers. Verrill (1880a:186) and Verrill (1882c:10) states his No. 6 is same specimen as No. 3; this cannot be correct, as capture date for No. 6 is clearly stated as December 1874 by Verrill (1875c:213). Verrill (1880a:188, pl. 17) repeats record as his No. 13. |
| 35 | winter of 1874–1875 | | Found washed ashore | | | Destroyed | | None taken | None; Verrill specimen No. 12 ("Harbor Grace specimen") | Verrill (1875b:79); Verrill (1880a:188); Verrill (1882c:12) | Frost (1934:102) | "destroyed before its value became known, and no measurements are given" |
| 36 | Unknown (reported 1875) | west St. Modent (on Labrador side), | Found alive | Architeuthis princeps or Architeuthis monachus of Steenstrup | Entire | None; cut up, salted, and barrelled for dog meat | | ?TL: 37 ft (11 m); BL+HL: 15 ft (4.6 m); EL: 52 ft (16 m); SD: ≈2 in (5.1 cm) | None; Verrill specimen No. 7 ("Labrador specimen") | Verrill (1875a:36); Verrill (1880a:186); Verrill (1882c:10) | Dr. Honeyman article in Halifax newspaper; Frost (1934:101) | Data from unidentified third party cited in Halifax newspaper article. |
| 37(📷) | 25 April 1875 (or 26 April) | | Found immobile at surface; attacked and chased by fishermen; arms successively hacked off and eventually killed | Architeuthis monachus; Architeuthis dux Steenstrup, 1857 | Entire | Beak and buccal mass, one arm ("much mutilated and decayed", missing horny rings), portions of both tentacles ("shrunk and distorted", missing horny rings on large central club suckers); head, eyes and second arm initially saved, but soon lost/destroyed | | fresh]; TL: 14/17 ft (4 .mw- 3⁄20 in (0.38 cm); AL: 8 ft (2.4 m) [fresh]; AC: 15 in (38 cm) [fresh]; beak: ≈5+1⁄4 in (13 cm) × 3+1⁄2 in (8.9 cm); "trunk": "fully as long as the canoe"; EyD: ≈15 in (38 cm); WT: ≈6 st (38 kg) [head only]; additional sucker measurements | NMI catalog no. 1995.16 (beak in spirit) | O'Connor (1875:4502); More (1875b:4569); More (1875c:123); Verrill (1875c:214); Massy (1909:30); Nunn & Holmes (2008) | Galway Express 1875; Ritchie (1918:137); Massy (1928:32); Taylor (1932:3); Robson (1933:692); Rees (1950:40); Hardy (1956:285); Collins (1998:489) | On public display. Caught by three-man longline fishing crew of currach ("curragh") for use as bait for coarse fish. Found motionless at surface surrounded by gulls, becoming active upon being attacked by fishermen, swimming away "at a tremendous rate" and releasing ink. Progressively disabled with a knife (fishermen having no gaff or spare rope) as chased for 2 hours over 5 miles (8.0 km), before head eventually severed; heavy mantle allowed to sink. Specimen secured and preserved by Sergeant Thomas O'Connor of the Royal Irish Constabulary and forwarded by him to the museum of the Royal Dublin Society, Dublin (now the National Museum of Ireland – Natural History). |
| 38 | October 1875 | Grand Banks [of Newfoundland], Atlantic Ocean (chiefly 44°–44°30'N 49°30'–49°50'W){NWA} | Found floating at surface; "mostly entirely dead" but small minority "not quite dead, but entirely disabled" | Architeuthis | Multiple; mutilated by birds and fishes to varying degrees, especially limbs; No. 25 missing parts of arms; No. 26 with intact arms and tentacles | None; cut up for cod bait | | No. 25: Filled ≈75 US gal (280 L) tub; WT: nearly 1,000 lb (450 kg) [estimate, complete]; No. 26: TL: 36 ft (11 m); Howard specimens: BL+HL?: mostly 10–15 ft (3.0–4.6 m) [excluding "arms"]; BD: ≈18 in (46 cm) [average]; AL: usually 3–4 ft (0.91–1.22 m) [incomplete]; AD: "about as large as a man's thigh" [at base]; Tragabigzanda specimens: BL+HL?: 8–12 ft (2.4–3.7 m) [excluding "arms"] | None; included Verrill specimen No. 25 and Verrill specimen No. 26 | Verrill (1881a:251); Verrill (1881b:396); Verrill (1882c:19) | Frost (1934:103) | An unusual number (≈25–30) of mostly dead giant squid found by Gloucester, Massachusetts fishermen, with similar number estimated to have been obtained by vessels from other areas. Data from Capt. J.W. Collins of the United States Fish Commission, who at the time of the incident commanded schooner Howard, which collected five specimens. Other involved vessels included schooner Sarah P. Ayer (Capt. Oakley), which took 1–2 specimens; E. R. Nickerson (Capt. McDonald), which harpooned one (No. 26) with intact arms that was "not entirely dead"; and schooner Tragabigzanda (Capt. Mallory), which took three in one afternoon. Some fishermen stated that such "big squids" were also common at the Flemish Cap during the same season. Verrill conjectured that this mass mortality might have been due to an outbreak of disease or parasites, and/or related to their reproductive cycle. |
| 39 | c. 1876 | | Found washed ashore | | Entire | Jaws | | estimate]; EL: ≈20 ft (6.1 m) [estimate] | Colonial Museum [NMNZ] | Robson (1887:156); Kirk (1880) | Pfeffer (1912:32); Dell (1952:98) | |
| 40 | 20 November 1876 | | Found washed ashore | | Partial specimen; devoured by foxes and seabirds | Piece of pen 16 in (41 cm) long | | WH: 18 in (46 cm); FW: 18 in (46 cm) | In Harvey's possession; Verrill specimen No. 15 ("Hammer Cove specimen") | Verrill (1880a:190); Verrill (1880b:284); Verrill (1882c:14) | M. Harvey letter 25 August 1877 to Verrill; Frost (1934:102) | |
| 41 | 1877? | | Not stated | | Map location only | | | | | Sivertsen (1955:11, fig. 4) | | |
| 42(📷) | 24 September 1877 | | Found washed ashore, alive | Architeuthis princeps; Ommastrephes (Architeuthis) princeps | Entire; "nearly perfect specimen" | Loose suckers | | (see Verrill, 1880a:220) HL+BL: 9.5 ft (2.9 m); BC: 7 ft (2.1 m); TL: 30 ft (9.1 m); AL: 11 ft (3.4 m) [longest, ventral]; AC: 17 in (43 cm) [ventral]; beak; FW: 2 ft 9 in (0.84 m) | YPM catalog nos. IZ 017927, IZ 017928, IZ 017929 & IZ 017930. Verrill specimen No. 14 ("Catalina specimen") | Harvey (1877); [Anon.] (1877a:266, 269, fig.); [Anon.] (1877b:867, fig.); [Anon.] (1877c:305, fig.); Verrill (1877:425); Tryon (1879b:185); Verrill (1880a:189, pl. 17 figs. 1–10, pls. 19–20); Verrill (1880b:295, pl. 12); Verrill (1882c:13, pl. 8, pl. 9 figs. 1–10, pl. 10) | Owen (1881:163); Hatton & Harvey (1883:242); Pfeffer (1912:21); Frost (1934:102); Miner (1935:187, fig., 201); Ellis (1997a:31) | Measured fresh by M. Harvey; examined preserved (poorly) by Verrill at New York Aquarium. Later "prepared" for exhibition by taxidermist. Served as the basis for the earliest "life-sized" giant squid models, including the original three made by Verrill and J. H. Emerton and six subsequent ones by Ward's. Described by Frederick Aldrich as "largest giant squid to be encountered in Newfoundland". |
| 43 | October 1877 | | Not stated | | "big squid" | None | | None taken | None; Verrill specimen No. 17 ("Trinity Bay specimen") | Verrill (1880a:191); Verrill (1880b:285); Verrill (1882c:15) | M. Harvey letter 17 November 1877 to Verrill citing reference to specimen by John Duffet; Frost (1934:102) | Specimen cut up and used for manure. |
| 44(📷) | 21 November 1877 | Smith's | Found washed ashore, alive | ?Architeuthis princeps | Entire | None; carried off by tide | | estimate] | None; Verrill specimen No. 16 ("Lance Cove specimen") | Verrill (1880a:190); Verrill (1880b:285); Verrill (1882c:14) | M. Harvey letter 27 November 1877 to Verrill citing measurements taken by John Duffet; Frost (1934:102) | Found still alive, having "ploughed up a trench or furrow about 30 feet [9.1 m] long and of considerable depth by the stream of water that it ejected with great force from its siphon. When the tide receded it died." |
| (📷) | 1878 (accessioned) | | Not stated | Architeuthis sp. | Entire? | Beak | | estimate]; EL: ≈10 m [estimate] | Otago Museum catalog no. IV119151 | Lau (2021); [OM] (2021) | Copedo (2022) | On public display. Collected by Capt. Charles Hayward (Catlins River harbourmaster, 1872–1887). Acquired in 1878 by Capt. Frederick Wollaston Hutton, first curator of Otago Museum, according to museum records; rediscovered and publicised in 2021. Placed on display in Animal Attic gallery. Mantle and total length estimated by teuthologist Kat Bolstad based on beak measurements. |
| 45(📷) | 2 November 1878 | | Found aground offshore, alive; secured to tree with grapnel and rope; died as tide receded | ?Architeuthis princeps | Entire | None; cut up for dog food | | BL+HL: 20 ft (6.1 m); TL: 35 ft (11 m) | None; Verrill specimen No. 18 ("Thimble Tickle specimen") | Verrill (1880a:191); Verrill (1880b:285); Verrill (1882c:15); Ellis (1998a:6, 89, 107) | M. Harvey letter 30 January 1879 to Boston Traveller; Hatton & Harvey (1883:242); Holder (1885:165, pl. 25); Frost (1934:102); Carberry (2001); Harvey (2004); Hickey (2009); Paxton (2016a:83) | Discovered by fisherman Stephen Sherring and two others. Often cited as the largest recorded giant squid specimen, and long treated as such by Guinness. Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as candidate for "longest measured" total length of any giant squid specimen (together with , and less reliably ). Giant Squid Interpretation Centre and "life-sized", 55-foot sculpture built near site of capture; sculpture appeared on Canadian postage stamp issued in 2011 and has associated annual festival. |
| 46 | 2 December 1878 | | Found washed ashore | ?Architeuthis princeps | Entire, mutilated and with arms missing (only one arm "perfect") | None; cut up for dog food | | thicker than a man's thigh" | None; Verrill specimen No. 19 ("Three Arms specimen") | Verrill (1880a:192); Verrill (1880b:286); Verrill (1882c:16) | M. Harvey letter 30 January 1879 to Boston Traveller; Hatton & Harvey (1883:242); Frost (1934:102); Paxton (2016a:83) | Found dead by fisherman William Budgell after heavy gale. Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as the "longest measured" standard length of any giant squid specimen. |
| 47(📷) | 23 May 1879 | | Found washed ashore | Steenstrupia stockii Kirk, 1882 [=Architeuthis sp.?] | Entire, but somewhat mutilated; missing ends of tentacles | Pen, beak, tongue, some suckers | | ASC: 36; TL: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [incomplete]; FL: 24 in (61 cm); FW: 13 in (33 cm) (single); GL: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m); GW: 11 in (28 cm); other measurements | NMNZ catalog nos. M.125403 & M.125405; holotype of Steenstrupia stockii Kirk, 1882. Kirk specimen No. 3 | Kirk (1880:310); Verrill (1881b:398); Kirk (1882:286, pl. 36 figs. 2–4) | Verrill (1882d:477); Kirk (1888:34); Pfeffer (1912:34); Suter (1913:1051); Dell (1952:98); Dell (1970:27); Stevens (1980:213, fig. 12.24); Stevens (1988:149, fig. 2); Judd (1996); Paxton (2016a:83); Greshko (2016) | Measurements taken by T.W. Kirk. Has been called the "largest specimen recorded in the scientific literature" based on erroneous total length of "approximately 20 m", itself based on claim by Roper & Boss (1982:104) relating to unspecified specimen "stranded on a beach in New Zealand in 1880 [sic]". Considered by Paxton (2016a:83) as the longest reliably measured mantle length of any giant squid specimen (less reliably that of ), but measurement considered dubious by experts due to wide discrepancy with reported gladius length. |
