#4801 · 🐌 snails, slugs & other molluscs

Giant Squid

🇳🇱 Reuzeninktvis ·Architeuthis dux

LCleast concern 🐌 Snails, slugs & other molluscs 📍 in Europe, not in NL

7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Christopher Caine · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Auckland War Memorial Museum · CC BY 4.0
3. © Marian Oliver · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © ali_paulus · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Marian Oliver · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Luciana Leite · CC BY 4.0
7. © danielhooft · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The giant squid (genus Architeuthis ) is a deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae . Giant squid can grow to a tremendous size due to deep-sea gigantism: recent estimates put the maximum size at 13 m (43 ft) for females and 10 m (33 ft) for males from the posterior fins to the tip of the two long tentacles (second only to the colossal squid at an estimated 14 m (46 ft), one of the largest living organisms). The mantle is about 2 m...

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 62iNaturalist observations
weight 272.2 kgadult, up to
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
62 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Weighs up to about 272.2 kg.

fact sheet

English: Giant Squid
Nederlands: Reuzeninktvis
scientific name: Architeuthis dux
class: Cephalopoda
order: Oegopsida
family: Architeuthidae
IUCN Red List: LC · least concern
sightings in NL: 0
sightings in Europe: 2
sightings worldwide: 62
GBIF records in NL: 2
weight: 272.2 kg
length: —
lifespan: —

IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 253698, Wikidata Q13537131, GBIF 2290184, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.