List of giant squid specimens and sightings (20th century)

It includes animals that were caught by fishermen, found washed ashore, recovered (in whole or in part) from sperm whales and other predatory species, as well as those reliably sighted at sea.

[1] Additionally, examinations of dead specimens and partial remains provided data on diet (#226 and 412), longevity and habitat (#369, 371, and 374), depth of occurrence and buoyancy (#246 and 266), metabolism and locomotory ability (#411), as well as tentacle regeneration and internal parasites (#169).

The large-scale commercial exploitation of sperm whales, particularly from the end of World War II to the 1970s, provided a rich source of giant squid remains for scientific study.

The vast majority of these consisted of disarticulated beaks (with up to 47 found in a single sperm whale stomach; #331), though more substantial remains were occasionally recovered, including even whole adult specimens (#84, 128, 137, 151, 209, 225, and 234),[2] with one reportedly showing signs of life after being vomited (#128).

The most important figure in the study of ingested giant squid remains was marine biologist Malcolm Clarke, who authored around a dozen relevant papers.

This much-reproduced photograph shows a giant squid found at Ranheim in Trondheimsfjord , Norway , on 2 October 1954 ( #136 on this list), being examined by Professors Erling Sivertsen and Svein Haftorn. The unusually complete specimen measured 9.24 metres (30.3 ft) in total length and had a mantle length of 1.79 metres (5 ft 10 in). Specimens such as this, if properly preserved, can provide important scientific data long after they are collected; the animal pictured had its beak morphometrics and tentacle morphology studied by Roeleveld (2000) and Roeleveld (2002) , respectively.